Everyone Loves Percy
by Princess Andromeda II
Summary: Everyone loves Percy Jackson. Whether it is romantically,maternally, or admiringly, everyone who ever met the son of Poseidon couldn't resist loving him, even if he never loved them back. As a result, hearts were broken. But no one has ever listened to that side of the story...until now.A series of one-shots from the POV of girls that have loved Percy in some way; no real timeline.
1. Annabeth

**Hey guys! So, this is my first fanfiction published on this site. It's so exciting for me to actually see my story on here! Anyway, please just give it a try, and who knows? Maybe you'll actually like it...This was mainly inspired by a story I saw a while ago: "One-Sided" by ChocolateIsMyDoom. It's a really cool story, so go check it out if you get a chance (hopefully you'll read this one first though :D) Thanks to all who've already followed/ favorited me and my story. I can't tell you how much that means to me! Alright, I'm shutting up now so you can read.**** Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, although I would LOVE to steal that man's brain.**

**(text from: the Lightning Thief, chapter 5)**

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**Annabeth**

She had never seen someone so handsome.

Someone so mesmerizing, so stunning, so blindingly gorgeous. It didn't seem possible at the time- and still didn't, for that matter- for guys that looked like that to exist. It was highly unlikely. She should have known, as logical as she was, that it was entirely possible. But this kind of handsome, no, it didn't just walk into your life everyday. Honestly though, back then she had seen very few boys besides Luke that weren't ugly or that she didn't treat like a brother. This boy... He was new. He was handsome.

And he had been drooling.

She had been about to shake him awake herself when he had sat up with a gasp and had stared at her with big, sea green cow eyes. Oh gods... she thought. His eyes are so beautiful. As beautiful as Aphrodite herself.

And she had messed up their first meeting by stating stupidly, "You drool when you sleep."

She had immediately clamped a hand over her big, fat mouth, but thankfully he had looked down quickly to wipe the puddle of pooling drool on his pants leg. He had looked back up at her with a glare which had only lasted but a brief moment. That was just like Percy. Never able to stay mad at anyone. There was just such a happy, optimistic vibe to him. And yet...

There was something that Annabeth, one of the few closest to him, saw in Percy: something darker, sad, even tragic. It cause her to shudder sometimes, his aura would be so powerful and... just scary.

She was snapped out of the deep trenches of her mind as he snapped his fingers in front of her face.

"Annabeth? Annabeth. Annabeth!" she heard as she came out of her blank state.

"What?" she huffed indignantly. He scoffed.

"Have you even heard a word I've said?" He asked, irritated. She blinked rapidly, trying to remember the conversation that had occurred over the past five minutes. Seeing her failed attempt at remembering, he tried to put on a pouty face, but just ended up grinning. "You don't care about my story, do you?"

She wanted to cry out that of course she did, she cared about everything he said, but to save this normal, easy moment and their casual friendship, she didn't. Instead, she replied, "Of course not, Seaweed Brain. You've never got anything interesting to say anyway."

His jaw dropped, putting on a pretend offended look, but then he just grinned and rolled his eyes. He continued to tell the story anyway, and she struggled to listen this time. But it was hard. As he smiled at her and explained about some crab's dietary needs or something, Annabeth nodded along and smiled with him, but her thoughts were already wandering elsewhere. Percy's care-free deflection of her insult, although only part of his usual la-la attitude about life, had only made her sad. And it got her thinking.

Would he really even care if she didn't worry about his opinion? Would he care about her opinion on his? She wasn't sure. As smart and intelligent as she was- not to toot her own horn, but she was a daughter of Athena, after all- Percy was one of the few mysteries in her life. Although they had been friends for years now, since they were twelve, she still felt sometimes as though he was different than she expected. So wild and unpredictable, yet, at the same time, calm and gentle.

Like the sea.

Her thoughts wandered, yet again, from the present, and to the thoughts she had already pondered millions of times before. How did Percy feel about her? Did he think of her as a friend? Of something more? Did he know how badly she wanted to wrap her arms around him, to kiss him? Did he want to kiss her? These indecisive questions raced 'round and 'round in Annabeth's mind, causing her to become slightly dizzy and nauseous.

"Whoa, Wise Girl," he said. "You okay?" She stared at his three heads, her vision slightly blurry, before mumbling something about needing to "go take a shower" or "get some aspirin."

Percy cast her an odd, worried look, and Annabeth was once again surprised by how much his attention pleased her and satisfied her. If only he would always look at her, and only her.

But there were so many other girls now, and there always had been. It was worse now though. At first, Annabeth's competition for Percy's affection had numbered only one: her. But then, after their first quest, things started to change. She, Percy, and Grover came back to camp, and girls started fawning all over him. There were the numerous nymphs and the obsessive Aphrodite cabin, of course. There were girls that had one time bullied Percy and picked on him, who now claimed that they had always had such a major crush on him. Other girls came along as well: girls from school, from other quests, from Camp Half-Blood, from Camp Jupiter, from Olympus (It was widely rumored that several of the goddesses, both on and off Olympus, had a thing for Percy: Aphrodite, Hera, even Artemis.) Heck, one girl that Annabeth knew liked Percy had been banished for years in exile, and a few others had either been dead, locked away, or in a coma-like state, making them well-over Percy's age. But still, the girls continued to be drawn to him by the dozens, like a moth to a flame. Oh, they all claimed they were in love with him, and very convincingly too, yet they had never liked him, talked to him, loved him, like Annabeth had. Certainly they were drawn to him and his attractive looks, his goofy humor, his strong muscles, his powerful abilities. But they didn't care enough, not as much as she did.

It was enough to make Annabeth spit.

During all of those detestable thoughts, she must have been making a very unattractive, sour face, because Percy just stared at her in surprise and said, "Hey, Annabeth, what's up? You look like you smelled something stinky." When she didn't reply, he tried to lighten the awkward tension by claiming, "Whoops, sorry, my bad. Didn't know my fart would wreak so much."

Annabeth, realizing she had been zoning out again, just laughed a nervous, uneven laugh that immediately raised Percy's eyebrows in suspicion. Luckily for her, he didn't push the subject, but continued to construe his story to her that he had been explaining for well over ten minutes now, she was sure. She was intent on focusing on his story this time.

"And so then, I turned around and I was like, 'Whoa! How does a squid even eat a piece of bread that big?'"

Annabeth, already completely lost in this conversation (as she had been for several minutes now), just allowed her eyes to glaze over slightly and her head to keep on bobbing along to his words, which she was very intent on understanding at this point. She figured that the best way to do that was to just stare at his mouth. So she stared, vigilantly.

The only problem was, thoughts of Percy's mouth led to thoughts of his lips, which led to thoughts of his kisses, which Annabeth had felt very few of.

Although Percy's kisses for Annabeth were few and long in between, the rarity of them made their value all the better, like a precious gemstone of some sort. Annabeth, being the cautious girl that she was, had worked her way up the Ladder of Kissing, beginning on the lowest rung- a peck on the cheek- so as to work from the ground up. The first time she had kissed him had been precisely that: a quick kiss on Percy's cheek, after the their victory at the chariot race when they were thirteen. The next step up the Ladder had been another quick peck, but this was progressive because it was on the mouth. She had kissed him on his lips, with a warning to stay safe, before quickly pulling on her Yankees cap so as to mask her furious blush with invisibility. After that, she was able to climb up the rungs much more quickly, and with much more confidence too. But it had been shaky at the same time, if that made sense. Her next big step had been to ask him- well, more like order him- to go to the most romantic event of the summer: the fireworks show. He had stared at her inquisitively, as if saying, "Why are you even talking to me?" Well, that's how she'd taken it, anyway.

She had later ranted about her frustration in an interview, making a fool of herself by not only openly admitting her huge crush on Percy, but also going on and on and on about how he couldn't take a hint. Although he'd never said anything to her, Annabeth's suspicious and anxious side of her was always afraid that he'd read that interview. But whenever she'd asked him about it indirectly, he would just stare at her with a blank expression and she could just tell that he had no clue what she was talking about.

That happened a lot, actually. Percy was well-known by everyone to be not-so-smart sometimes. Well, that wasn't really fair. It wasn't so much that he was stupid, just...oblivious. Very, very oblivious. Although he sometimes got teased for it, he never seemed to care. Or maybe he was just too unobservant to even realize that people were teasing him in the first place. Yep, that was more likely.

_Poor Seaweed Brain_, she thought._ So clueless_.

She turned to look at Percy, studying his features. His famous sea green eyes and jet black hair- there was no other way to describe them- were an instant magnet to girls everywhere, and once you got to know him better, you would also be attracted by his oddball sense of humour, his off-hand jokes, his bright way of viewing life, his inner strength, his sense of loyalty; oh, the list went on and on. If you were lucky enough to catch him when he was in private training at the arena, as Annabeth and, to her resentment, others often did, you would possibly have the privilege of getting to see a shirtless Percy; his faint white scars (heroic medals of battle, as Annabeth viewed them), broad shoulders, and noticeable muscles (complete with an impressive six-pack) also adding to his overall man magnet-nis.

Annabeth fought the very strong urge to let her gaze stay trained on his impressive biceps, instead forcing her eyes to remain locked on his face. He wasn't gesturing with his hands anymore. Was he saying something? He looked slightly annoyed.

"Annabeth." Did he say her name?

"Wise Girl." She stared only at his lips. They were moving.

"Annabeth." Those pink, full lips...

"Annabeth!"

"What?"

"I give up. You're not even listening to me anymore. What are you doing?"

She sighed in frustration. Maybe they wouldn't ever be anything more than "just friends." Maybe they were destined to never be an item. To become closer. But she didn't voice her concerns. Instead, she simply answered:

"Oh, you know me: just thinking..."

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**So guys, please tell me what you thought in the review section below. Please! Anyone who does will get one of Sally Jackson's blue chocolate chip cookies and a recognition in the next chapter. Also, I will be doing a question at the end of every chapter. If you have any ideas, please just leave them in the review section below or PM me. This first question will be on a poll on my profile (so please vote!).**

**Favorite PJO/ HoO couple?**

**Thanks! REVIEW! (you know you want to...)**

**I love every single one of you.**

**~Kristen Green**


	2. Rachel

**Hey guys! So, this is still my first fanfiction, and I've already gotten 3 reviews, 4 favorites, and 6 follows. You guys are unbelievable. I wish I could give every single one of you a hug, but, unfortunately, the Internet limits my ability to do that. :) If you want to get recognition, then please review for this chapter. Anyone who reviews will get a shout out in the next chapter, I promise.**

**So, thank you to:**

**Guest #1: Thanks for your review: you were my first review I've EVER gotten, so thank you so much! Thanks for checking out this story even if you didn't think it would be good, and I'm so glad it made you smile. And, yes, I will most DEFINITELY be continuing this story! Thanks again, My First Reviewer.**

**Guest #2: Thanks for the review you gave, I really appreciate it. And to answer your question: yeah, you're right, Percy isn't with Annabeth in this story, I'm sorry if I was unclear about that. I honestly wouldn't have done Annabeth at all, since she is really the only one who's been with Percy, but I just felt I should start with her so there wouldn't be so many requests to do her. This isn't a Percabeth fanfic: it's a Percy x Every Other Girl Character fanfic. Glad you liked it, and thanks again!**

**the feels: Thanks for the review and the amazing compliment: I've never been so happy to hear that someone's head exploded! (Just kidding, of course.)**

**So, here's Chapter 2 of "Everyone Loves Percy." Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I am not a middle-aged man, and my name is not Rick Riordan.**

**(text from: the Titan's Curse, chapter 14)**

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**Rachel**

Was it possible to want every human being that had ever lived to just die?

Apparently, it was. Because that was exactly how Rachel felt as she stared at the boy she loved. She just wanted everyone to go away, go live on another planet. Well, everyone besides herself, obviously.

And Percy Jackson.

They sat together now, side by side on a park bench in Olympus, watching nymphs romp around the green area before them and satyrs scurry by with important messages for the gods. _This is what I want, _she thought. _Just the two of us. _He was saying something to her now, but she wasn't paying attention. She was lost, deep in thought. Dwelling on hateful thoughts and the beautiful boy beside her now. Why couldn't everyone just leave them alone? Go die or something?

To be perfectly honest, Rachel didn't _really _feel that way about other people. She was a natural people-person: creative, outgoing, artistic. She went to all of the parties at her boarding school, although in the majority they were filled more with artsy/ talented kids as opposed to the jock crowd. Still, she was recognized as a very friendly and fun person to be around. She enjoyed being with people as much as they enjoyed being with her, which was a lot.

So to say that she wanted everyone to die was a bit of an overstatement. In truth, all she really wanted was alone time with Percy.

Ah...Percy Jackson. One of her best friends since, well, for what felt like a million years to her. She had first met Percy when she'd been visiting the Hoover Dam on a family vacation: December, of eighth grade, she remembered. Although it had been around 3 or 4 years since she'd first met him, she could recall the memory as vividly as if their encounter had occurred yesterday...

_She had a cold. A terrible, terrible cold. It was understandable though, considering that it was December. Her father, whom she hated with a passion as deep as her love for painting, hadn't bothered to accompany her. Instead he sent her with her nanny, whom she also strongly disliked, ironically, although to a much lesser degree than her father._

"_I'm gonna go to the bathroom, okay," she told her nanny. It had been more of a statement than a question of permission though, because she knew her nanny didn't really care about her at all, simply the considerable pay she received for keeping track of Rachel. Her nanny gave a response that was all but vigilant; just a cursory, detached nod and a slight wave of the hand, which is exactly what Rachel had been expecting. _

_Already pulling out her bag of tissues as she walked away from her nanny, she saw out of the corner of her eye that another load of people had scrambled out of the elevator, looking around curiously at the dam's underground area like a bunch of newborn puppies. Rachel recognized the park ranger that had been present when she came down about thirty minutes ago. Her dark, straight hair and intelligent grey eyes had made her seem so mature and...wise. It seemed like she was _so _intelligent that she was either an evil genius or some sort of supernatural being. She coughed with a miserable effort into her tissue._

I hate my life, _she thought as she blew angrily into her poor, ragged Kleenex. She was wearing one of her favorite outfits- a big Harvard sweatshirt that had belonged to her dad, and her favorite pair of jeans that had marker, ink, and paint stains so thick it was hard to make out the denim material- yet somehow she almost felt worse. Maybe it was because she had everything she needed (besides a loving family) to be happy: painting- a hobby which she was actually really good at; not-too-terrible features, like frizzy red hair and emerald green eyes; freedom to go wherever she wanted, whenever she wanted; and- according to her father- the most important thing of all was having plenty of money, which she certainly had. But it all just felt so...empty._

_She was more of the shell of a 14-year old girl on the outside than on the inside. On the inside, she felt like someone who had lived for too long, and been through too much, seen too much. People always told her this (usually overbearing aunts at Christmas parties who would shower her with excessive, slimy kisses and suffocating hugs), but she was way beyond her years. And she knew it too. She felt like someone who had lived in another life, or at least belonged in another one._

_If Rachel had been someone else, which she would have loved, and heard what she was thinking at the moment, she would have stumbled away in alarm while simultaneously pulling out her pepper spray and calling the cops. But, unfortunately, Rachel experienced people that received that vibe from her all the time. _

_So it shouldn't have come as such a shock when, from around the bend, came a boy with an enormous, glowing sword, which he swiped down into her as she blew her nose with an ugly sniff. It didn't seem to go through her completely, more like pass through her as if she were some sort of ghost. It was spooky._

"_Oh my god!" she shouted at first instinct, not entirely taking in her attacker. "Do you always kill people when they blow their nose?"_

_The boy looked rattled, as if she had hit him head-on with a pickup truck. Well, something like that. _

"_You're mortal!" he managed to stutter out. He still looked shaken. But, now that she had taken a good look at him, _Rachel _was the one that was shaken. She had never seen a guy so..._hot. _That was truly the only word that would adequately describe the boy._

_He had stunning green eyes, quite similar to hers, actually, and the darkest black hair she had ever seen on a white guy. It was an odd combination of features, she thought, but it definitely worked for him. _Definitely.

_Still not fully processing how drop-dead gorgeous this guy was, Rachel stared at him in disbelief. "What's _that _supposed to mean? Of course I'm mortal! How did you get that sword past security?"_

_The boy must have finally started taking in her appearance as well, which, she was sure was completely odd-ball and weird, because he studied her closely. He peered at her through squinted, long-lashed eyes. "I didn't- Wait, you can see it's a sword?" His eyes narrowed in suspicion as they swept up and down her body, analyzing her. She rolled her eyes, but it was really a sarcastic mask to cover the extreme discomfort she was feeling at the moment._

_His steady gaze made her highly uncomfortable, his stare intense and unwavering. To try to dispel some of the awkward tension between her and this unusually attractive stranger, she continued to question him, injecting a tad bit of humor into her interrogation. _

"_Well, it's either a sword or the biggest toothpick in the world. And why didn't it hurt me? I mean, not that I'm complaining. Who are you? And whoa, what is that you're wearing? Is that made of lion fur?"_

_She hammered the boy with a steady stream of questions, inundating him with a flood of things she wanted to know. Usually she wasn't so chatty and annoying, but she didn't want the boy to leave, and he was making her nervous, the way he looked at her. She squirmed under his gaze._

_He cast a cursory look down at his...pelt, and then glanced behind him, as if he was waiting for someone. Or someone was chasing him. _

_Suddenly he looked back at her and snapped his fingers under her nose. "You don't see a sword," he said. "It's just a ballpoint pen." _

_Rachel was too stunned to react for a second, and the boy's charming spell over her was momentarily broken, causing her to snap out of her dreamlike attitude, if only for a moment. "Um...no. It's a sword, weirdo."_

_He just stared at her. "Who _are _you?" he asked. She rolled her eyes again._

"_Rachel Elizabeth Dare," she said, stating her full name. It was all she ever went by. No nicknames, _ever_, was her motto. Still feeling sassy and demanding, she huffed,"Now, are you going to answer my questions, or should I scream for security?"_

_The dude stumbled over his words hastily. "No! I mean, I'm kind of in a hurry. I'm in trouble." _

"_In hurry or in trouble?"_

"_Um, sort of both."_

_Seeing something of his shoulder, she suddenly screamed at the boy, "Bathroom!", ushering him into the men's room behind her while answering his look of confusion with another quick order. "Bathroom! Behind me! Now!"_

_Only moments after the boy shut the door of the bathroom, a herd of skeletons dressed like security guards- who did they think they were fooling _anyway?_\- burst from around the corner, making odd hissing and clicking noises like a bunch of crazed cats._

_She was oddly calm as she rattled off a bunch of commands and orders, none of which she could even recall afterwards. She must have said something that made sense though, or that the skeleton guys liked, because they quickly rushed away, making the same clattering noises as before. _

_Immediately after they disappeared around the corner, Rachel slumped against the bathroom door, exhaling a breath of air she didn't know she'd been holding in. Her body felt drained of all energy, as if the skeletal security guards had sucked some vital source of strength out of her, taking it with them as they left. She wiped a few beads of perspiration off of her damp forehead, her hands clammy and sweaty, yet cold, a shiver escaping her as she turned around and opened the door for the boy hidden inside._

"_All clear," she said meekly, to her surprise. Her voice sounded drained too, devoid of all the oomph it usually possessed. "But you'd better hurry," she added._

" _I owe you one, Rachel Elizabeth Dare." She shuddered involuntarily at the sound of the boy saying her full name. It sent up pleasant chills and goosebumps all over her skin. It sounded so...right, coming from him. He began to turn away, towards the elevator, when she stopped him with her words. For some reason, she didn't want him to leave just yet._

"_What are those things? They looked like-"_

"_Skeletons?" He interrupted, causing her to nod. "Do yourself a favor," he said. "Forget it. Forget you ever saw me." _Yeah, _that's _gonna happen, _she thought to herself, knowing that she would never be able to forget the boy's face. The thought, overwhelming her with emotion, made her throat close up, and she tried to prevent the tears threatening to spill over._

"_Forget you tried to kill me?" she joked._

"_Yeah. That, too."_

"_But who are you?"_

"_Percy-" he paused, something he saw behind him causing him to stop. "Gotta go!"_

"_What kind of name is Percy Gotta-Go?" she asked, but he wasn't listening anymore. _

_He was gone._

As Rachel thought back to that time now, she remembered how she had been so devastated that he'd left. Sure, he'd been a perfect stranger (extra stress on "perfect"), but at the time she had felt a deep connection to the boy that she had never felt with anyone before. Something so powerful and overwhelmingly beautiful that'd she never known so passionately. And now, since she was older and had known Percy for years now, she knew exactly what that emotion had been, and what it still was, for that matter.

Love.

Although she'd been young, her love for Percy had been so strong that she'd spent weeks and weeks, maybe even months, shut up in her room: pouring over anything that she could find in the hopes of locating the mystery boy from Hoover Dam. Even though she'd figured out he had lived in the area around the dam, she had still looked for almost half a year before seeing him at her new high school's orientation, looking in magazines, newspapers, school websites... _anywhere_ to see if she could find him.

In the end, all of her hard work hadn't even done anything productive; on the contrary, it had been fate that had put the two of them together again. Still, the thorough search had been enough of a task to keep Rachel's mind occupied in the months that she had been in such a wasted mental position. Her mission to find Percy had given her mind focus, clarity.

Now, though, Rachel longed for the dim, lifeless hold that had taken over her temporarily before she'd begun her search all those years ago. At least if she had that now, her mind and, hopefully, her heart would be too foggy and dull to process the raw inundation of emotions that flooded her being. Feelings like pain, jealousy, rejection. The ones that hurt the most.

The past few years, Annabeth had seemed to come closer and closer to Percy. At first Rachel hadn't noticed it, most likely pushing aside the signs in obvious denial. She had been disbelieving that Percy would fall for a girl like Annabeth: pushy, stubborn, proud, and, no offense to Percy, _intelligent._ She only said this because she had long ago admitted to herself that she wasn't the brightest student, receiving mainly B's in school and occasionally an A or a C or two. Nothing about her grades that made her stand out. Academically speaking, she had always been...average; unlike Annabeth, who got an A+++++ on _everything, _or so poor, clueless Percy told her.

Could he not see how much she despised Annabeth's intelligence, their close relationship? Rachel didn't hate her, but she resented everything that Percy loved about her. Could he not see her skills, _her _talents? She was a good artist, didn't that count for something? People, including Percy, had always commented on, marvelled at, _praised _her work, claiming she was a genius when it came to creating masterpieces like her paintings, drawings, and sculptures. But that was always the key addition, wasn't it? Adding the extra part after "genius" about her artwork. People were always very particular in their wording, carefully avoiding the original type of genius: Annabeth, which was apparently a synonym for the word.

But that was Rachel. Always second fiddle to Annabeth, Percy's precious girlfriend.

When she had first heard the news about the couple getting together, she'd felt nothing. Only a dull sensation similar to that that she'd experienced in those months of solitude after Percy's disappearance. A little after though, she'd felt as though someone had frozen her heart, turning it into a cold ball of ice, before smashing the fragile crystal ball into a million tiny glass shards with a sledgehammer.

The impact had been that horrific, that painful, that poignant. She'd never experienced such raw emotion as that before. And she didn't think she ever would again, because Percy and Annabeth had destroyed her heart without knowing it, unconsciously holding the sledgehammer that had broken it into such miniscule, unrepairable shards.

Her thoughts lifted from the dark, murky and unfocused waters of her mind to the beautiful sky that reality beheld, the life preserver that had saved her being his voice. Percy's.

"Oh, there's Annabeth. Do you mind if I go talk to her for a second? I'll be right back."

"No," she said with a small, sad smile. "I don't mind at all."

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**Please review, favorite, and follow, and also please check out the poll on my profile. I'll say it again: PLEASE REVIEW! You can say ANYTHING! You can even pick two random words and post that, and it'll make me smile. Reviewing would really mean a lot to me, and it'll only take a quick second! So, please do it. Also please answer the question below in your review. Thanks everyone!**

**Who do you like better: Grover or Tyson? Why?**

**Thanks everybody. Luv ya!**

**~Kristen Green**


	3. Reyna

**Hi everyone! At the time that I post this, I'm a little disappointed by the number of reviews for last chapter, but hopefully that'll change soon. :) Thanks to guest reviewer Alex for your huge compliment: it really boosted my morale, so this chapter is dedicated to YOU. Thanks. **

**To everyone else: enjoy Chapter 3!**

**Disclaimer: Do I look like a Rick to you? Oh I do? Well that's weird, cuz I'm not Rick.**

**(text from: the Son of Neptune, chapter 2)**

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**Reyna**

She had never felt more alone in her entire life.

Sure, she was used to being alone. Her life had been a constant roller coaster of emotions that had usually involved her family situation. She'd never had what some would call a nice, "normal" childhood, and the absence of that family aspect had turned her into the warrior she was. She technically had three family members, yet she felt like they were all distant relatives one might meet at Thanksgiving or Christmas once a year.

Her sister, Hylla, whom she had been very close with when they were younger, was never around anymore. She was often gone nowadays for days, weeks, months, maybe even a year, consumed with the messy business of being the queen of the Amazons.

Her mother never was, and never had been, present in her life. She was the Roman war goddess, Bellona. The only thing predictable about her was her certainty to never appear in her daughter's life or assist her in anyway. Certainly as a goddess her life would be time-consuming, but a quick chat every now and then would be nice, or an answer to a prayer on the battlefield would be awfully handy. Her daughter had never experienced the true novelty of having a real mother.

If one had been counting down on her fingers, she would have noticed that there was only one family member left besides her sister and her mother: her father.

Her father, Julian, had been an insane, abusive man, whose actions often forced her and her sister to flee the house in fear of his tirades; eventually she had even been forced to stab him in order to prevent him from killing Hylla, which actually resulted in him bleeding to death.

The horrid memories of her father's death, her childhood, and her time serving as a handmaid on Circe's island with her sister haunted her life, in both reality and nightmares.

She'd never had any friends in school because the other kids never wanted to come over to play or hang out. They called her a freak, saying that her house was haunted, that scary ghosts lived inside the walls of her home. And they had been right.

So, yes, she was used to being a loner from the start. But she supposed it was rather fitting for her. It certainly helped with her whole "lone warrior" persona. People compared her to a wolf: strong, wise, independent. That last word, although people rarely said so, was often the unspoken equivalent of _lonely._ It was word that bit at her heart, threatening to push her to the breaking point, make the constant traces of tears in her eyes spill over.

After her father died when she was young, Reyna had refused to give her heart to anyone else, to love another soul, to allow herself to be broken yet again. For years, Reyna had protected herself from others by wearing a thick gold armor, which she kept on her person at all times. This armor, unlike the armor that she often wore in battle, was not the visible armor of a fierce warrior who prides herself on her accomplishments, but of a meek maid who attempts to mop up her past, covering it up in the ashes of the fireplace. She had spent so much of her life building up that armor, layer by layer, until just recently she had achieved what she thought was invincibility. Yet how odd that the person who would strip away her armor would be one who he himself had just been stripped of his own invincibility.

Percy Jackson.

As Reyna gazed out at the Senate meeting taking place below, her mind went numb at the mention of his name, and her eyes glazed over at the overwhelming thought of her family. Memories, emotions, and thoughts she believed that she had buried long ago were flung in her face, quicker than she could keep up with. She felt her knees buckle, and she slid gracefully down to the ground in a kneeling position as her mind was inundated with a flood of flashbacks.

_Hazel burst into the plaza of Camp Jupiter looking wild-eyed._

"_Help! Help! New camper! Gorgons!" she cried between gasps of breath, her hands on her knees. Reyna had stood up as soon as she had caught sight of the girl, and now she was already on her way out of the plaza, her long purple praetor cape billowing in the breeze behind her. A herd of advisors and officials trailed behind her. Although Hazel had only been at Camp Jupiter for a little while, less than a year, Reyna still trusted her immensely, which was unusual for her. Other campers joined the march to the entrance of camp, curious as to what all of the commotion was about._

_The sun shined brightly in the daytime, and its rays bounced radiantly off of her golden armor. Up ahead, Reyna could see the sentry towers, with the guards inside, and then, to her horror, watched as two gorgons swooped out of the sky and snatched a Roman- Frank, she thought his name was- off the ground. She was just about to begin yelling out orders to the surrounding Romans, when the need was longer necessary. A sudden geyser of water shot up, the source seemingly the Little Tiber that flowed in front of them. Tornadoes of water flanked Frank, keeping him afloat and safe, while the gorgons were hit- no, more like _grabbed _\- by the river, as if two giant hands had pulled them down into the water to their damned deaths. _

_In fact, the river looked _exactly _like a pair of hands, reaching up high into the sky. Reyna searched the banks of the river and found the source of the magic: a raven-haired boy standing with his back to the throng of Romans. She watched in fascination and amazement as the river obeyed his commands, bending to his will as the mighty hands grabbed the pair of gorgons and dragged them under the water's surface, where they were seemingly dissolved, pulled apart by the forceful currents of the Tiber. _

_The remnants of the monsters were swept downstream as the whirlpools around Frank dissolved as well. The entire Roman entourage was staring, gaping and open-mouthed, at the boy in front of them. The crowd surged forward just as the boy turned, and Reyna's view of the young man was blocked by a large sentry standing in front of her. _

_She could see nothing of the scene in front of her, but she could certainly hear an old woman's gravelly voice say, "Well, that was a lovely trip. Thank you, Percy Jackson, for bringing me to Camp Jupiter." _

_At the boy's name, Reyna's knees nearly buckled, and she was overcome with an unexplainable weakness. It couldn't be him, could it? The odds were too unlikely. Coincidences like that simply did not occur. She shoved a sentry roughly aside and pushed her way to the front of the crowd to be sure it was him. Sure enough, there he was, standing in all his glory, looking stronger, healthier, and much, _much _more handsome than the last time she'd seen him, so many years ago._

"_Percy...Jackson?" she managed to choke out._

_Percy turned to look at her quickly at the sound of his own name, searching the crowd for her. When his eyes came to rest on her and she registered no recognition in them, she was so disappointed that she thought her heart might burst. He didn't remember her. _

_She stared at him with dark black eyes so full of emotions, so full of _longing, _that she was sure she looked really creepy and scary. It was just...his face, his name, his presence, they all brought back terrible memories of the nightmare that had been her childhood. Him being there... it made her head spin with the pain it brought back._

_Suddenly Reyna caught sight of the old woman who had spoken before and addressed Percy. She gasped with surprise as the woman stood up and began to change form in a bright, surrounding glow, revealing a goddess who towered to about seven-feet tall. She was clad in a dark blue dress with a goat skin draped regally across her shoulders like a feather boa that a snazzy Hollywood actress might wear. She held a wooden staff in her right hand which had the head of a delicate pink lotus flower. It wasn't hard for Reyna to guess who the woman was: a regal goddess who loved to make flashy entrances, and she practically oozed bucket-loads of sophistication and superiority. _

_Juno._

_With enough reluctance to slow down even the craziest daredevil, Reyna knelt to her knees, and she sensed others following her lead, all bowing their heads in respect to the powerful Roman goddess._

_All that is, except Percy._

_He stubbornly stared at the goddess, refusing to kneel to the goddess. Reyna suspected that something had happened between Juno and Percy just now that made him falter on the rules of respect around the gods. He looked thoroughly unimpressed by the goddess's display._

"_Juno, huh? If I passed your test, can I have my memory and my life back?" _

_Normally, Reyna would've been appalled that someone could have spoken to a major goddess that way, but it was secretly nice to see that Percy was the same old Percy, relatively unchanged by all of the horrific experiences in his life so far. And he usually tended to do whatever he pleased, and somehow get away with it._

_Still, she expected Juno to request at least a lightning bolt or two, or maybe for Percy to get turned into a cow or a peacock. Instead, the goddess just smiled. _

"_In time, Percy Jackson, if you succeed here at camp. You've done well today, which is a good start. Perhaps there's hope for you yet. Romans," she said, turning and addressing the crowd of Romans, "I present to you the Son of Neptune. For months he has been slumbering, but now he is awake." Reyna thought that was pretty obvious. "His fate is in your hands. The Feast of Fortuna comes quickly, and Death must be unleashed if you are to stand any hope in the battle. Do not fail me!" she said with one final bellow, and a sweep of her cape. She disappeared in a flurry of sparkles and glimmering light._

_With an awkward tension in the air and a sprinkling of mumbling in the crowd behind her, Reyna felt obligated to resume her position as praetor and step forward and say something to this *ahem* _stranger. _She approached Percy hesitantly, not sure if he would remember her or not if she got closer. His memory of her could be a good thing or a bad thing: good, because he might sense the romantic connection to her that she felt towards him; bad, because he might remember what she, her sister, and her mistress had tried to do to him and his friend those many years ago. So she approached him cautiously._

_To make sure he took her seriously, she raised her eyes to his, which was a mistake. How was she supposed to be stern with him when he looked at her with such gorgeous eyes? So green, so much like the sea... Tears formed in her eyes, though she tried not to show it, and her throat constricted with a lump that she failed to swallow._

"_So, a son of Neptune who comes to us with a blessing,' she said, and was surprised to find how unpleasantly cold and harsh her voice sounded towards him. _Great, _she thought to herself. _Now he'll definitely hate me. _Percy just stared at her with incredulous eyes, as if to say, _What's your problem?

"_Look, my memory's a little fuzzy. It's _gone, _actually. Do I know you?"_

"_I am Reyna, praetor of the Twelfth Legion," she hesitated momentarily. Final decision: should she tell him or not? If she told him now, he may take pity on her and how lonely she was. Or he may try to run her through with a dagger. She made a split-second decision."And...no, I don't know you."_

_Percy looked doubtful, as if he did have some memory of her, though he just couldn't place it. No doubt he would eventually remember and would want to confront her about it in one way or another. But for now, she was safe. She breathed a small sigh of relief and ordered Hazel to take him away. She couldn't stand to be near him anymore today, for fear her heart would burst._

"_What do you mean," he protested, "decide what to _do _with me?"_

_Reyna's heart contracted, and she knew _exactly _what _she _wanted to do with him; however, she doubted that was hardly appropriate out in public, or appropriate at all. She was so startled by her thoughts that she had to squeeze the hilt of her dagger at her side tightly, forcing herself to think of other things, anything but _that. _She quickly made some oddly believable excuse about questioning him inside, and he obliged, walking with her, Frank, and Hazel, and her heart feeling like it weighed a million tons._

The memory faded, and with it died the sharp pain that had protruded her skull beforehand, replaced with a dull, pounding headache.

Others looked up to Reyna: respected her, honored her, _trusted_ her. Yet nobody _loved _her, which was all she really wanted. At one point she had believed that maybe, just maybe, she could have that romantic love with Jason Grace. But he was gone, out of her life for good, and replaced with Percy. It seemed a sign to her, that he should appear in her life twice, both at times when she was feeling best about being so independent.

Now she believed she had a chance to be with Percy, if only he would look at her as more than a comrade, which he never did.

But, of course, he never would.

"Reyna, are you alright?" she heard his angelic voice ask. The entire council, both in the balcony with her and down below in the audience, was turned towards her.

"Just fine," she replied, her head held high.

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**So that's that! Please review, favorite, follow, whatever. But especially review, it really makes my day! Shout out to anyone who does in the next chapter! Here's the question:**

**Who do you like better: Jason or Percy? Why?**

**That's all! Thanks! Luv ya.**

**~Kristen Green**


	4. Calypso

**Hey there, lovely people! I'm updating today instead of tomorrow because I know I can't tomorrow or Wednesday, so I'm doing it now. You lucky duckies. So, I think there might be some confusion as to what the time period for this story is. Honestly, it's not set after, before, or during a specific book, but at random times. At the beginning of each chapter I've included an excerpt from a book, and I put the book/chapter it's from at the botto of this AN. Hopefully you'll be able to understand the setting fairly well. BTW, this chapter has a teeny tiny graphic scene in it, just some small torture-ish stuff, in... Paragraph 18, I think. Nothing too bad, just thought I should warn those who are sensitive to that sort of thing. Anyway, the reviews and number of views and visitors have gotten a lot better, thanks to many amazing people out there. So, thanks to:**

**The Twelve Olympians: totally agree with you. haha LOL "that upstart Jason". totally.**

**kingpariah: I loved your review. It really did brighten my day, and it's brightening my day again just reading it. I agree about Percy: we've known and loved him forever, whereas Jason is...meh. Wonder what a series in Jason's POV would look like... doubt it would be as good as Percy though. Thanks for reviewing!**

**PERCABETH lover: Yeah Percy is so awesome and Jason's kinda... blah. Kinda dull. Go "Persassy!"**

**Maria: I agree with you, if anybody should be mad, it should be Reyna, but I was just trying to go for kind of a different spin on everyone's feelings and POV's. You're right about Percy's "effortless appeal." Jason seems kinda stiff in comparison.**

**Guest #1: Thanks for reviewing; Percy all the way.**

**Guest #2: Thanks for the review, I appreciated it. It was kind of an obvious question, I know, but I thought I should ask.**

**BrittanyLP: Thank you for the review; Percy is the best. And I'm glad I'm not the only one miffed by Piper's comment. What the hell is wrong with her?! Percy does NOT equal unimpressive! Those two words do not belong in the same sentence!**

**Anyway, those are the shout-outs for now. Don't forget that anyone who reviews gets recognition. Just keep that in mind...**

**Without further adue (is that how you spell that?), here's Chapter 4 of "Everyone Loves Percy." Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Rick Riordan. I'm too much of a high school girl to be him.**

**(text from: the Battle of the Labyrinth, chapter 12)**

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**Calypso**

Do you know what it's like to have your heart ripped out of your chest, stepped on, then spat on?

Of course you don't, otherwise you'd be dead, and you wouldn't be reading this. No mortal would be able to be dead, yet alive, at the same time. Although, if you were the daughter of a Titan, that'd be an entirely different story, now wouldn't it?

Well, that was Calypso's story.

That was her _life. _Every day she woke up alone, save for her invisible servants, on a magical, uncharted island in the middle of who-knows-where. The island, unreachable by those who intended to go there, had been her home for ages now: Ogygia, it was called.

It wasn't the loneliness that got to her; it was the fact that those who came to visit her never came back to see her again. You see, according to the stupid high and mighty Greek gods who had put this curse on her, every so once and a while, Calypso would be visited by a man. Not just any man, though; oh no, the gods were vicious and merciless, so each man that visited her was a handsome, strong hero. Naturally, her curse, or maybe it was just her own stupid heart, forced her to fall in a desperate, undying love with each hero who washed upon the shore. It had happened with every single young man who washed upon her shore: he arrived on her beach, lost, confused, and shaken up; she nursed him back to health out of kindness and curiosity in the new boy; she became filled with an unwavering affection for him; he left her.

And nobody was ever able to come back twice.

She supposed she shouldn't blame the boys themselves. It was usually that they had to return to whatever war or tragedy that they'd come from. After all, they were Greek heroes, dedicated to saving the world and those meddlesome gods all the time. Either that, or they were already in love with someone at home. Sometimes it was a combination of both situations.

Unfortunately for Calypso, it was usually the latter of the two reasons. The hero was always very kind and gentle in his explanation, so she tried to remain strong during his departure, but after his raft appeared off of Ogygia's shore, she would allow the tears to flow.

Who could blame them though? Whoever they left was probably much prettier than her anyway. WAIT- was that the problem? Was she not pretty enough? She'd always hated her almond-shaped eyes: she thought they were weird and squinty. And her hair- ugh, her hair- it was oddly smooth, but to the point where it seemed to her like it was oily and greasy, the caramel color making it seem almost... _sticky. _Her clothes, which she'd always thought of as natural and simple, now made her seem dull and lifeless at the idea. Could that really be the problem? Was she _that _unattractive? Maybe she was really a very ugly person, but each hero who she'd met had been too kind to say anything.

That was it, she decided. She'd lost each of her loves due to her hideous appearance. _What is _wrong _with me? _she thought to herself as she collapsed onto a rock nearby, bursting into tears. The fat drops slid down her tanned face and landed, one by one, with a delicate plop on her ivory dress. She was faintly aware of her servants, whom she could hear and sense more than see, bringing her a soft, lotioned tissue.

_Where did they get a Kleenex with lotion out in the middle of nowhere?_ she thought incredulously to herself as she attempted to wipe away the tears. _Who cares anyway? _she thought bitterly. _All that matters is that my loneliness and bitterness is _my _fault. If only I had more curves... If only I was wittier... If only I was smarter... If only I was prettier... I've lost _so _many people I love because of this stupid curse. _

From Odysseus- the first- to Percy Jackson- the last. Although her affection for Odysseus, or, more accurately, the memory of her affection for him, had faded, there was still a massive hole in her heart with Percy's name written on it. Over the past few years, Calypso had managed to pretend like she had moved on from him, forming a temporary scab on the jagged wound that crisscrossed her heart, leaving a hideous white scar; now, though, a flood of blood burst from the wound in the form of tears from her eyes. They fell silently at the thought of his name, his face, his lips.

True, she'd never kissed Percy before, but she had dreamed about him every night since he'd left her island. Usually the dreams were pleasant, soft, and gentle, filled with visions so vivid that she could practically picture herself in his arms.

Those dreams were the highlight of her day, the highlight of her life since Percy had left. As sad and pathetic as it was, Calypso couldn't deny how much she looked forward to going to sleep each night in the hopes that Percy's presence would grace her dreams once more. The nights that he did, her sleep was peaceful, and she felt warm and strong, as though she was wrapped in his muscular arms like the nights that they had lain by the campfire on the beach, staring at the stars above and naming constellations that they recognized.

Those had been heavenly nights (no pun intended), just the two of them enjoying the completeness that the presence of the other gave them. At least, that's what Calypso had thought it had been like. But once Percy had started hinting at his decision to leave, she'd begun to think that _she _was the only that really needed him. Her worst fears had been confirmed when Percy had brought her the bad news that he had to leave. With a heavy heart and what she hoped was a light smile, she had let him go.

As he left, he had promised to find a way to set her free from her prison. He'd said he would make the gods change their minds, let her go. Then she had let _him _go. He'd gone back to where he belonged: home. To his friends. To his family. To his demigod responsibilities. To his crazy world.

To Annabeth.

The other half of Calypso's dream were inhabited by Annabeth (Percy had said her name often in his sleep, and had consciously spoken about her just as much). They were terrible, awful nightmares that always forced her awake several hours later, only by the sounds of her horrified screams. The dreams happened so frequently that Calypso wasn't even surprised anymore when she discovered herself drenched in an intense cold sweat, breathless and panting, or sometimes even dotted with red beads of blood which were laced on vicious claw marks where she'd unconsciously raked her arms.

The nightmares that involved Annabeth torturing Calypso ranged in a variety of terrors, many of which Calypso had forgotten at this point but the memory of which still were a nightmarish shadow in the back of her mind.

Sometimes, her dreams were even plagued with unappealing images of Annabeth inflicting the same kinds of torture on Percy: poor, sweet, lovable Percy, who would just stand there and stare at Annabeth, disbelieving, as she would cut his throat or yank out a limb or two. That was worse than the Calypso-being-tortured dreams: her own pain she could handle, but seeing the person that she loved most in the world being tortured, even if it was in a silly dream, and being unable to stop it was the worst feeling she could imagine. The horrors that the Annabeth in Calypso's dreams inflicted upon her and Percy were ones that nobody should ever have to witness.

Other times, just as frequently as the other nightmares, Calypso dreamed of Annabeth stealing Percy from her. Those visions were almost worse. Annabeth would appear, that smug, intelligent look on her face with an evil glint in her eyes, and she would stand in front of Calypso, doing unimaginable things to Percy that made Calypso want to throw up. Vulgar things, ones that she knew the blonde didn't have the right to do.

It was odd, and funny, in a sick, scary sort of way: Calypso had never seen Annabeth before in her life, and yet, when the girl appeared in her nightmares, she somehow knew _exactly _what she looked like: tanned face, blonde hair, intelligent grey eyes. Her face would be as vivid and real as Calypso's own, so recognizable that she thought she would never forget, but whenever she woke up, she was always frustrated to find that she couldn't recall the girl's features in any way. It was if she was only allowed to visit the outside world in the imaginary world of the dream plane, not in the unfair realm of reality.

Ever since Percy had left and the nightmares had started, Annabeth was usually the main source of Calypso's hate in the world. She hated Annabeth with a fiery passion that burned deep inside her. She had never hated someone so much, even the countless number of people who had wronged her somehow. She hated her more than she hated the Greek gods, whose judgement and sense of justice she had once respected and protected with a blind innocence, who had imprisoned her in this beautiful prison. She hated her more than she hated her father, the Titan Atlas, who had abandoned her in her hour of need when she was young and sent to live in this hell disguised as a paradise. She hated her more than she hated Odysseus, who had been the first man she'd ever given her heart to with that much trust and understanding, only to have it be smashed in her face as he left her. She hated her more than she hated Percy, who she had long ago realized she felt towards in equally disturbing levels of undying love and bitter hate.

In short, Calypso hated Annabeth Chase.

Why else would she have put that curse on her as Percy left? As he'd been pushing off of the shore of Ogygia in his makeshift raft, Calypso had sent down a curse on Annabeth, forcing as much pain and suffering into the words as she could. She now felt guilty about that curse, but there was nothing she could do to lift the curse off of the girl. Calypso was ashamed of the way she had acted: so immaturely and irrationally.

With a start and a rush of shame as harsh as a slap in the face, Calypso realized that those emotions were the exact same ones she still felt towards Annabeth: hate on an unhealthy, obsessive level. She felt so nasty and guilty on the inside, like someone had colored her pink heart with a grey crayon that clumsily shaded her thoughts to darker ones, so that she could no longer see the sunny, lighter side of life she had felt around Percy.

Something needed to be done about that. She _had _to move on, or else she would never be happy. It's what Percy would want: for her to be happy and live life to the fullest, romping through this world and enjoying the moments she had, instead of being dragged through life by time until she faded. She was immortal, at least for now, so what would be the point of existing for so many years in a miserable state? There was no point, so she wouldn't do that.

With a sense of finality and closure, her resolution set, Calypso stumbled off to bed, so tired that she didn't bother changing out of her white and gold dress or pulling her caramel hair out of the tight French braid it was weaved in. She lay her head on her fluffy pillow with a slight yawn and a tentative smile on her face. For the first time in years, she did _not _want to dream of Percy; she hoped that she would sleep through a dreamless, uneventful slumber and wake in the morning with no more thoughts of Percy.

Of course, she _had _to dream of him anyway.

That night, Calypso's thoughts were filled with old ones: not new ones of wonderful, unrealistic moments with the boy, not horrid visions of Annabeth's wrath involving torture or guy-stealing, but memories that had not crossed her mind in forever. Although she had succeeded for- what? two, three years now?- it seemed that she could only push the memory of her first encounter with the boy away for so long.

_Calypso's morning ritual of drinking jasmine tea in her rose garden was interrupted by an enormous boom of energy. _

_She looked to the skies, which were mostly a wonderful pink and gold sunset color, save for the streak of black that was hurtling toward Ogygia. What could it be? A stray bird, perhaps? Calypso wasn't surprised; fowl that had lost their way after a long flight at sea were often wounded in their journey during a storm of some sort and usually wound up on her island, where she would nurse them back to help._

_Frowning, for she hadn't finished her tea yet, Calypso calmly set down her delicate china teacup, which she knew her invisible servants would take care of, and set off down the beach to help the poor animal. _

_She gasped as the approaching animal came closer; the animal she had mistaken for a black bird like a raven or crow, was not a flying creature in the least._

_It was a boy._

_She broke into a run as he hurtled towards the beach at an alarming rate, not sure what she would do if she reached his destination in time. Fortunately -or unfortunately- she didn't have time to make that decision, nor a chance to, for the boy crashed into the sandy beach before she could reach him. She faltered for only a moment once she reached him before bending down to attend to him. Her almond eyes swept across the young man as she called over some servants and began to rip her gown so as to dress his wounds._

_He looked fifteen, maybe sixteen if he had just turned that age. He was fairly muscular for a guy her age. He had the look of a demigod...that certain sparkle. His jet black hair was swept across his forehead, singed at the tips and containing specks of... were those _ashes? _What had this boy been through? His arms and legs, in fact, Calypso realized with some embarrassment as she began to undress him, his entire body was horribly burned. Had he been in a fire of some sort? If that was the case, why had he been hurtled into Ogygia like he'd been shot out of a cannon? Most heroes that arrived on her shore just washed up on a raft or a piece of wreckage from a ship. She suddenly wondered if his face was soft. It certainly looked soft, despite the ashes on it. She reached out with a hand tentatively to stroke it..._

_The boy opened his eyes with gasp, and Calypso scrambled backwards, partially from shock, and also at surprise at his eyes. They were so... _green. _She had never seen eyes quite like that... so aware and full of life, though at the time, they just looked completely confused as he stared up at sky while trying to raise himself to a sitting position. He moaned from the pain._

"_Stay still," Calypso said suddenly, realizing just how long she had been staring at the boy. "You're too weak to rise." _

_With a cautious hand, she placed a cool, wet washcloth over his hand, which one of the servants had brought to her at some point. She leaned over him as she spoon-fed him some ambrosia and nectar, which a servant had also brought to her. She usually saved the gods' food for emergencies, but, well, this guy looked like he counted as an emergency. _

_She began to sing a sweet tune that her mother, a nymph, had sung to her when Calypso was a little girl. She was self-conscious about singing in front of the boy at first, but grew confident towards the end as she saw the peaceful smile on his face as his wounds healed. Already the burns were fading to a bright pink from the angry red they had been previously. When she was done, he looked up at her and tried to talk._

"_Who?" he managed to force out. Calypso just shook her head, telling him not to._

"_Shh, brave one," she soothed. "Rest and heal. No harm will come to you here. I am Calypso."_

Calypso's dream was ended abruptly by a screaming noise, like a bomb flying through the air, whistling as it sailed towards the ground. She scrambled out of bed, still in her sleeveless white dress and her hair somehow out of its braid; maybe one of the motherly servants had pulled it out.

She ran outside of her cave to the garden, just in time to see something- no, _someone_\- crash into the table set up on the beach by the servants for morning tea. The china set flew everywhere, breaking into a million pieces. The table and chair collapsed to the ground with a crunch that made her cringe. The person stumbled to his feet, something gold glinting in his hand.

"What are you _doing_?" she cried furiously. "You blew up my dining table!"

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it... That's a wrap on C****hapter 4, with a surprise Cameo by...well, you'll just have to take a guess in the reviews, won't you? :) Please favorite, follow, and review. It makes a HUGE difference. The question today came from kingpariah. (Thank you!) Here's the Q:**

**What is your favorite magic item in the series? Why?**

**REVIEW!**

**Love you all,**

**~Kristen Green**


	5. Zoe

**Hello everyone! Hope you enjoyed the last chapter! This chapter and the ones after it are going to be a little different than Chapters 1-4, because in the chapters after this, the girls were ones who had no actual relationship with Percy in the books. But that just made me work even harder to try to deliver a good chapter (which is even longer than all the others so far!). So, I hope you enjoy it. Here are the shout-outs from Ch. 4:**

**Plain-Is-Prettiest: first of all, nice name. :) Secondly, Yas, he is too good for them. You're funny, and thanks for the review!**

**The 6th Spectral King: i love your cheap method of getting the lightning bolt; made me LOL. hard.**

**Delta General 42: glad you caught that. some people didn't.**

**kingpariah: your reviews are always so amazing and LONG. thank you so much for all the input! I don't even know what all to say, so thanks for everything, and yes, Riptide needs to be faster. This chapter is for you!**

**ChaoticVortex: thanks for the review, the community, the staff, the PMs, everything.**

**BrittanyLP: you are my favorite guest reader, and i'm glad to have a returning reviewer. thanks for the review!**

**It's An Elaborate Ruse: thanks for the advice; i need all the help i can get!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Enjoy Chapter 5 of "Everyone Loves Percy!"**

**Disclaimer: I ain't no Rick Riordan.**

**(text from: the Titan's Curse, chapters 16-18)**

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**Zoe**

She sat, glum and dejected, on a warm rock by the cool wading pool.

_How is it possible to be _sad _in paradise? _she thought. _Here I am, literally in the most perfect place in the world besides heaven, and yet I am moping? What is wrong with me?_

All around her, other spirits were actually enjoying themselves, each just happy to have landed here, in Elysium. The spirits each did the thing that pleased them the most in the world, and altogether it was a beautiful sight. Zoe often loved to just sit here on this rock, or in that tree, or on that bench, and just watch as the people went by. It gave her surprisingly great pleasure. Creepy? Perhaps. But she supposed that the reason she loved being so vigilant was that it was the best possible reminder of her days as a Hunter of Artemis: always on the lookout, observing the things that usually went unnoticed and that seemed unimportant. It gave her a sense of purpose, as if she were still in some way useful to the world. She knew it was a pathetic way to spend her time, but she really did enjoy it.

The most entertaining spirits to watch were the young ones. Despite the stories of their deaths - protecting their younger siblings from death, not making it to Camp Half-Blood on time, starving from life on the run and a malnutritious diet- they did not act as though it was tragic. Although the children had lived the shortest amount of time, they were often the ones that lived the most now: they danced in the waterfall, leaped into the pool, sculpted sand castles, and wove flower crowns for each other, little girls often placing delicate blossoms into each other's hair.

She confessed she was not only a vigilant watcher of the children, but of the lovers she saw too. This was quite a popular spot too: a park that contained a forest, a waterfall, a pond, a river, the works; and from here Zoe could see it all. Two little kids, a blonde girl and a freckled boy, shared their toy Trojan horse as they skipped over the lush grass in the park. A couple, who she knew were just recently reunited after centuries of searching for each other, sat together on a wooden bench nearby, whispering fervently in hushed tones. An old man and woman, wrinkles lining their ancient faces, shuffled along a sidewalk as they held the other's gnarled hand and gazed at each other with such overwhelming love and adoration that Zoe thought she would burst. They walked in a surprisingly youthful manner, their faces old, but their eyes and auras young.

Zoe also enjoyed observing the young heroes that resided here. If she had been more of a fangirl, she may have been starstruck, but she failed to swoon or faint every time she saw one. Their tales of what they'd done in the life before never failed to fascinate her: the struggles, the scars, the sacrifices. It was all very relatable, and the connection was never lost on her when she met a spirit like that.

In fact, she swore that was Theseus, or perhaps another famous hero, passing her now. A young man crossed her line of vision on his way to the Roman bath house they had down here, which seemed rather ironic now: a Roman bath house in a Greek afterlife. He been carrying a towel and wearing a white robe with flip-flops like some kind of movie star.

Unsure who he was and dreadfully curious, she'd called out, "Who art thou?"

He turned, confused. When he caught sight of her, he cried "Why, do you not know me?"

She shook her head. "Thou dost look familiar, yet I am unable to place thy face. Pray tell, who art thou?"

"I am the most famous of all Greek heroes, the one that they once called Perseus, Slayer of the Gorgon Medusa."

Zoe immediately felt faint, her stomach queasy, and her head dull. "I thank thee. Pray thou wilt excuse me now." She rushed away in a mad dash, leaving a very stunned, and a very confused, Perseus to shake his head, turn, and stroll off to the bath house, whistling.

Meanwhile, still gasping for breath, Zoe stumbled away from the golden-haired man, leaning over a rock and crying as she felt the bile begin to rise up. Her hands were planted firmly on her thighs as she bent towards the ground, retching and gagging as the vomit flowed out of her mouth. She went on this way for several minutes, drawing the attention of several spirits nearby who quickly got up and left. When she was all done, she leaned against a nearby boulder for support and spit, the saliva that came out being a distasteful mix of blood and bile.

Her heart still beating rapidly, Zoe slid onto a bench that had been quickly abandoned by its disgusted resident. She sighed and closed her eyes, falling once again into her funk.

_What is _wrong _with me? _she thought to herself once again, giving her a major sense of déjà vu. She was supposed to be strong, a warrior, free from all emotion that might inhibit her. How had she been so happy one moment, and then been throwing up the next? All she'd done was talk to a spirit. Nothing wrong with that.

But that name he'd spoken... Why, she hadn't heard that name in at least three years. Well, from a living person at least. In fact, it was coming up on her deathday in a few days- tomorrow, actually. How had she let that slip by? A spirit's deathday was like a living person's birthday: it was kind of hard to forget.

Except if you lived outside of Elysium, of course: those souls that resided in the Fields of Asphodel were mainly just faint shadows of what they had been before, while the poor souls who were sent to Tartarus still retained their memories and thoughts from the previous life, just so they would have something to compare their lives of torture to and to show how good their lives had been before they'd screwed up so badly. It was kind of similar to those who lived in Elysium, although these souls kept their memories so they could see how much better their lives were now. That worked most of the time.

Except for Zoe.

Her life as a spirit was so bad right now. Sure, she lived in what could be considered a pure paradise: sparkling lakes, snow-capped mountains, sandy beaches, bubbling brooks. There was a forest where spirits who had once been heroes or hunters could hunt in for a while with dummy monsters. Somewhere around here there was an archery range, she knew. They had indoor plumbing, with saunas, spas, and salons. When Zoe had first come in through the marble gates, she had seen a trampoline park and a movie theater. There was even a chocolate fountain- a concept that was still fairly new to her- that spirits would dip fruit like strawberries and bananas in, as well as marshmallows, she thought they were called. Pure paradise.

But a place only becomes perfect, a paradise, when you have those who you love with you. Otherwise everything- the beaches, the spas, the chocolate fountains- meant nothing. Why have something so enjoyable when you have no one to enjoy it with?

Zoe often craved for those she'd loved when she'd been alive: the Hesperides, her sisters, although stubborn, were still her sisters nonetheless; her fellow Hunters, like Phoebe, Naomi, Celyn, and Bianca di Angelo, who had died only a day before she, and even her old nemesis/rival Thalia; her ever-graceful lady, Artemis, who she would always respect and love. But most of all, she loved one boy more than anyone else. More than the others that she'd known for years, as opposed to the boy that she'd known only for a few days.

Percy Jackson.

The mere thought of his name sent shivers down Zoe's spine, and she closed her eyes to enjoy the pleasure it brought her. She was exhausted, and the backs of her eyelids brought her such comfort, as well as the name on her lips that she continued to murmur as she drifted into a deep sleep, a memory that she would never forget as long as she had a heart.

_Percy._

_Percy. _

_Percy..._

_Zoe first realized she loved Percy at an extremely inconvenient time. _

_They were racing through the Garden of the Hesperides towards the top of Mount Othrys. Zoe stared at the back of Percy's head as he held Riptide firmly in his hand, swinging it at Ladon, the dragon that guarded the the garden. _So similar to Hercules, _she thought. But, she realized, he really wasn't like Hercules at all. Whereas Hercules had lacked conviction and loyalty, Percy's problem was the exact opposite: he was _too _loyal- to his friends, to his family, to perfect strangers like her. _

_And that what was made her cry out as he tried to pull out Riptide to help. "No!" she shouted. "Run!" He barely knew her, yet he was willing to put his life in danger for her; she couldn't let anything hurt him. That was when she knew. She loved Percy Jackson. It was also the moment right after her realization that the dragon had bit her in the side, infecting her skin with lethal poison. Usually the bite would have just hurt and gone away in a few days instead of killing her, but as a Hunter of Artemis, the maiden goddess, the moment that she broke her vow to never fall in love, she was no longer a Hunter, and therefore no longer invincible to the bite's sting. Surprised and shocked at what this would mean, the pain of the bite made her cry out, but she was smart enough to know that she had to get out of there._

_As they ran up the side of Mount Othrys, Zoe could feel Percy's vigilant green eyes on her, but she ignored him, trying to deny what she knew had just happened, until they got to the top, when he stopped her as she was explaining the past behind the mountain they were standing on. He interrupted:_

"_You're hurt." He pushed, "Let me see."_

_She shook her head and continued explaining, until they reached the summit of the mountain. There she suddenly spied Lady Artemis in chains, and she rushed forward to help her with a cry of shock. But to her surprise, Artemis stopped her with a strained voice, saying it was a trap. Only Zoe could see the realization in Artemis's eyes at what had happened to her. The others may not have noticed the lack of a faint shimmer on Zoe, but she knew the goddess wasn't stupid, and wouldn't be fooled. The disappointed but understanding expression on the goddess's face felt like a massive blow to Zoe, and she sallied forth to assist her without resisting the urge to cry. She tried to explain the situation to Artemis in a hushed tone while tugging at the chains that bound the young goddess, but it did no good- neither to tug nor to try to explain. Artemis just shook her head, but at which attempt on Zoe's part, she did not know._

_Zoe turned away from her lady long enough to catch the tail end of the conversation that had been occurring while her back was turned:_

"_...as soon as I deal with this wretched girl," her father was saying. She assumed he was talking about her. Her eyes shone and her heart burst, though, at the sight of Percy stepping up to her father to defend her._

"_You're not going to hurt Zoe. I won't let you." He said it with such determination, such strength, that Zoe almost believed that she wouldn't be hurt in the few minutes to come._

"_You have no right to interfere, little hero," Atlas said with a mocking sneer." This is a family matter." _

"_A family matter?" Percy furrowed his brow in confusion, the way that usually made Zoe laugh, but that only pained her more for what she had to tell him. Apparently Percy didn't know the truth, and it was her duty to tell him._

"_Yes," she said, strained. "Atlas is my father."_

_Percy's look of utter shock was so haunting, so shameful, that Zoe honestly zoned out for the minutes that followed. She was faintly aware of demanding the release of Artemis, a tense conversation between Thalia and Luke, and warning Thalia not to do something- join Luke, maybe? She was so caught up in the haze of the moment, that she only snapped out of her muddle when Percy's sea green eyes met her dark brown, nearly black, ones, and he spoke one word that sparked action into her lifeless body._

"_Now," he said confidently._

_Together, they all charged toward Atlas and his army. Zoe had only taken down a few monsters when she saw the raven-haired boy that she'd been watching out of the corner of her eye charge head-on towards her father, the Titan Atlas. _What is he doing? _she thought wildly. She pushed her way through the throng of fighting long enough to see Atlas raise his javelin and Percy his sword. She was able to call out a cry of warning._

"_Percy!" she shouted, not sure if he'd heard her or not. "Beware!"_

_Whether or not he'd heard her was no longer important as the son of the sea god stepped up to the Titan, sword raised, and swung it at his opponent. Zoe sent off a volley of arrows, which Atlas easily swatted away, after he flung Percy against the brick palace that was slowly solidifying on the mountaintop. Her gaze stayed trained on the young hero as he struggled to a sitting position and was once again approached by Atlas._

"_Die, little hero," she heard her father say in his powerful voice. Terror swept through her._

"_NO!" she cried, rushing forward with another onslaught of arrows that lodged in the Titan's armor. He turned towards her with an angry roar and lumbered after her._

Good, _she thought. _Come this way, towards me, away from Percy.

_She led him all over the mountaintop, doing her best to keep him away from the boy. Her arrows, although shot at ideal locations, did nothing but annoy her father. She was finally tiring out when her father's attention again switched directions, this time from her to a young girl who was firing magical arrows at him constantly. Artemis. _

But if that is Artemis, _she thought with a blurry confusion, _then who is holding up the... oh no.

_Her gaze landed with dismay on a lone figure supporting the weight of the entire sky, looking so fragile and broken that she wanted to crumble into bits and pieces and be swept away by the faint wind on the mountain. _

_Percy._

_Her mind whirled at a million miles an hour as it took in everything happening at the moment. Percy supporting the sky. Atlas focused on Artemis. Artemis leading Atlas towards Percy, or, rather, the sky. Artemis being swept off her feet by Atlas. Atlas laughing. Atlas raising his javelin, ready to strike for the kill. With no logical thought and only physical impulse, Zoe sprung forward with a mangled cry. _

"_No!" she heard herself say. She leapt between the fallen goddess and the smug Titan, launching an arrow into his forehead. He roared with an angry bellow and swatted her aside like a fly. She hit the black wall of rocks with a terrifying _crunch _and rolled to a stop. She looked towards Percy, saw his lips form her name. _

Funny, _she thought. Everyone always said his eyes looked like the sea, green and powerful, but right now, they were so bright and full of tears that they looked more like the stars, twinkling in the night. _Twinkle, twinkle, little star...

_The haunting song and the sight of Percy's eyes played over and over again in Zoe's mind as she sensed Artemis rush over to her broken form. The goddess's eyes were filled with tears, but she sounded strong when she spoke softly to Zoe. "I know what happened, Zoe." As shattered as it felt, Zoe's heart filled with a deep dread. "I know that you have fallen for the young hero. Percy Jackson." Zoe only blinked in response. Artemis continued on with a sigh._

"_I also know about what happened in the Garden of the Hesperides, as I could see down the mountain from my position in holding up the sky. That dragon poison from Ladon would not have poisoned you so badly if you were not in love. You have broken your maiden vow, and are no longer a Hunter." Zoe's heart seemed to burst, and she didn't try to hide the tears forming in her eyes. But then the young goddess smiled softly at her. "I could not have chosen a better lover for you if I had done it myself. I am guessing that the others in your quest group, even the son of Poseidon, do not know of your affections, nor of your broken vow. Once they see how badly the poison has infected you, they will most likely assume it is because you fell in battle: a warrior's death. I do not intend to tell them otherwise." Although her words were reassuring, her face was so grief-stricken that Zoe knew she was not taking this lightly. Zoe's vision began to cloud, becoming foggy and hazy. _

_Others began to rush over now: friends, she hoped, for she could not see them too well, but she assumed they were not dangerous, as Artemis made no move to get up. Zoe could only faintly hear the conversation above her. She mainly focused on Percy's words, tethering her to this life._

"_Atlas poisoned her?" he questioned. With some satisfaction, Zoe recognized concern in his voice. Artemis and the others continued to talk, but she became anxious and nervous with fever as she realized she could no longer see Percy's face, his eyes that looked like stars. _

"_The stars," she murmured. "I cannot see them."_

_Only Artemis seemed to realize what this meant. Zoe allowed herself to go into a slight concussion for the next few minutes. Or perhaps it wasn't a concussion, so much as death calling her. Somehow, it was saying, she was not quite ready, although she had very little time left. She dimly felt herself being lifted, more frantic voices, and a strange buzzing noise. The entire experience was very surreal._

_As she was slowly set onto the ground, Zoe seemed to finally come out of her trance. And realization hit her like a bang._

_She was dying. She was slowly but surely dying. _

_Percy didn't love her. He loved Annabeth._

_She could never be with Percy. She would be dead, and he would be with Annabeth._

_The conclusion was so devastating, so terrible, that Zoe stopped Artemis from doing what she knew she would try to do: heal her. Zoe gripped her wrist lightly as the goddess tried to place her hand on the gaping wound at her side. She looked deep into the young maiden's eyes, and her eyes sent out a silent plea. _Please, let me die.

_Although she didn't elaborate, Zoe knew that Artemis understood why she'd made the request. Any life without Percy was not a life worth living. Besides, she was the chosen one to die in the prophecy by a parent's hand. There was no other way, no way to change the Fates' design. Trying to show her undying- or, rather, dying- gratitude, she whispered a quiet question._

"_Have I... served thee well?" she asked. _

_Artemis nodded solemnly. "With great honor. The finest of my attendants." _

_Zoe felt the pull of death tugging at her soul, whispering that rest was coming soon. Very soon. "Rest. At last," she said in an eery manner. She turned to Thalia, mustering an apology. Finally she smiled quietly at Percy, the effort paining her immensely, and asked, "Do you still have the sword, Percy?" When he brought it out silently and showed it to her, she sighed, "You spoke the truth, Percy Jackson. You are nothing like... like Hercules. I am honored that you carry this sword." _And my heart, _she thought. She shuddered as death's icy hand closed around her heart._

"_Zoe-" Percy started, but she held up her hand weakly, and gazed into his eyes. They twinkled so brightly, sparkled like the stars above. She wanted to die looking into his eyes._

"_Stars," she whispered. "I can see the stars again, my lady." _

_Artemis smiled and allowed herself to cry, knowing what the words truly meant. Zoe saw her glance at Percy, strong and loyal, and said, "Yes, my brave one. They are beautiful tonight." A final stamp of approval from the goddess that she was not angry at Zoe. She sighed with relief, and stared into Percy's twinkling eyes once more. Her gaze drifted to the sky above, saw the stars, and she registered no difference between the stars above in the night sky and the ones fixed on her, right beside her._

"_Stars."_

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**Thanks everyone, that's Ch. 5 for ya! Don't forget to review and answer my question below! (please)**

**Which is better: PJO or HoO? Why?**

**Thanks, I love you all!**

**~Kristen Green**


	6. Thalia

**Hey everybody! Hope your Tuesday is going marvelously, or if you're reading on any other day of the week, I hope you're having a good day too. Random announcement: there is a poll on my profile, and it asks a very simple question, so PLEASE vote on that; thanks. The response to the last chapter was wonderful, so thank you to everyone who reviewed. Here are the shout-outs for last chapter. Thank you specifically to:**

** : Interesting name, BTW. And thanks for the review; YOU seem lovely.**

**kingpariah: Oh gods, thank you so much for your review. When I said they were always long, that was NOT a hint to make them shorter, trust me: the longer the better! You are one of the reviews that I look forward to every week, so thanks for your consistency. I agree that BoO pretty much brought down my admiration for HoO; the rest of the books in HoO were amazing, true, but like you said, it just kind of lowered its value, so yeah. PJO for the win! Thanks for the review, as always.**

**The 6th Spectral King: You crack me up; you're reviews are definitely the funniest, and very... quirky. IDK if that's the right word, but whatever. Thanks for the review, and enjoy all of your toys and being a primordial.**

**Guest #1: Hi! Whoever you are, thank you so much for your review, it was incredibly sweet and thoughtful. **

**Guest #2: Hola. Thanks for the review. I couldn't really tell if you liked my story or not, but thanks for reviewing anyway.**

**MarburyBlur: So funny that you suggested those, cuz I was planning on doing them anyway; you suggested Thalia, so here ya go! This chapter is for you.**

**Guest #3 (Who I'm assuming is BrittanyLP): Hi! If I said you're my favorite guest reader, then you most definitely are. I'm sorry you almost threw up... and cried, but hopefully it's good that you're feeling so emotional about the story. Hopefully. Don't want readers gettin sick now, do we? Hope you liked it, and thanks again.**

***I quickly want to remind all guest reviewers to leave a name when you review, please and thank you, because otherwise I can't distinguish you from others and I can't give you proper thanks for reviewing. Just a reminder.* So, thanks to all who reviewed. Here's Chapter 6 of "Everyone Loves Percy." Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Rick Riordan... At least, I don't think so. My memories have been wiped, and I'm in some random camp, with a bunch of people wearing togas...**

**(text from: the Titan's Curse, chapter 2 and 6)**

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**Thalia**

She was naturally a competitive person.

She couldn't help it, really; after all, it was in her blood, her father being the King of the Gods, always trying to maintain his position as the top dog. The situation was even more tense with Zeus trying to prevent his brothers from getting any ideas about taking the spot. He, and his daughter too, in a way, had to keep on a permanent shield of impenetrable armor, one without a single chink. It was tough, trying to be the biggest, the baddest, the best: basically, the most powerful.

So whenever Thalia hung out with other children of the Big Three, she tended to be a bit more on edge than usual.

Nobody usually seemed to notice, usually, but every so once in a while, the campers and the Hunters would get together to play a game, and her competitive side would come out on its own, loud and boisterous. She would speak tersely, formal. She might do a bit of trash-talking. She might get physical and shove someone on the other team. She was never proud of pushing the competition, but at least they were always her opponents.

Well, except for that one time.

It had been before she joined the hunt, when she was still _actually _fifteen years old. Come to think of it, it had been only a few days before the winter solstice. Before they'd even left on the quest, because there hadn't even been a prophecy yet. As she walked down the pier to the dock, book in hand, Thalia's thoughts begin to wander to that fateful day, three years exactly from two or three days ago.

Sitting on the edge of the dock with her feet dangling over the frozen water, Thalia sighed. Normally, when it wasn't winter, waves would be splashing onto her pale feet (which she thought were too large), scenting her with the ocean's perfume, serving as white noise to which she could relax and just listen to the sound of the waves crashing down and around on the pier. Today though, Thalia quietly thumbed through her diary with only the light wind and a dusting of snow drifting down from the sky as her background noise. She found the date she'd been thinking of: December 19. Random thoughts she'd written down in the journal popped out at her as she scanned that day's entry.

_I am so mad at Percy. Like, _really _mad. _

_This is the last straw, the last time I am going to put up with that Seaweed Brain. He almost cost us our entire mission at Westover Hall, running off on his own without even trying to find me and Annabeth. Instead, he went off by himself to try to be the hero like he does all the time. He is such an attention-seeker. Jerk. _

As she'd matured and opened her eyes a little, Thalia had eventually seen that he always meant to do heroic deeds in good intention, always balking at the idea that he could even be considered a hero. She turned her attention back to the diary.

_Maybe that's why I'm so mad. He's always the savior without even trying to be. He's just naturally the hero in any situation, way more than me anyway. But even his skill wasn't enough to stop Dr. Thorn. Haha._

_No, of course not. The stupid Hunters of Artemis had to come in and save the day once again. Me and the others were left standing there like idiots while they charged into a battle consisting solely of the manticore and those high-brow hunters with their fancy bows and immortality. I hate them. They are all so stupid. I'm glad I'll never become one._

The irony was hilarious. Thalia now knew that she'd only felt that way out of jealousy. Back then she'd been so jealous over anyone who's powers rivaled her in the slightest- besides the gods, of course. So whenever the Hunters would turn up, she turned bitter. She used to think they had everything: a goddess to watch over them, fancy bows, amazing hunting skills, sisterhood for life, and, of course, immortality. Now, though, Thalia was no longer jealous. She was a Hunter now, after all, and she knew that they didn't have everything. For one thing, she could never grow old with a certain someone. She also knew that even before she'd joined the hunt, several of the Hunters, like Thalia, had died after also trying to become close to a certain unattainable someone.

Percy Jackson.

Feeling her thoughts becoming haywire and her face heating up, Thalia shook those present thoughts away and absorbed herself once again in reading the past thoughts of her younger self. That day's entry was over, so Thalia flipped to the next one from the following day on the 20th.

_Now I'm even madder._

_Ugh_, Thalia thought. _My grammar was atrocious. _

_Chiron somehow decided that it would be a good idea for us to play a game of Capture the Flag: Campers vs. Hunters. Now, Dear Diary, I'm sure you know how competitive I can be. Especially when those idiotic hunters are involved. Well, you can probably imagine how the game went today. Except it was worse than that, because Percy was involved._

Thalia flipped the page to continue reading. She was curious; she didn't remember this part.

_Our team was winning, and we could've won if it hadn't been for that Seaweed Brain. My team and I were SO close to getting the flag, when all of a sudden, the idiot shows up and races off with the other team's flag. He was going completely against the plan!_

"_Percy! What are you _doing?" _I yelled, seeing him trip over something. In his hand he held the Hunters' flag, and I was so confused and astonished that I didn't notice the arrow shoot towards us. "No fair!" I complained as the fart arrow exploded, filling the air around me and my group with a rancid smell of rotten eggs. "Fart arrows are unsportsmanlike!"_

_As I fell onto the forest floor, coughing and gagging, I was mildly aware of Percy getting up with the flag and sprinting off to the creek. For a moment, when I was retching there on the ground, I almost thought he was going to make it. But then, of course, the bane of my existence, Zoe Nightshade, showed up and hurtled over the creek with the Campers' flag clutched tightly in her left hand. The smug look on her face made me want to puke. Maybe it was the fart arrow, actually. Or both._

Chuckling, Thalia took her attention off of her old diary for just a moment to think about her past hatred of Zoe. In truth, Zoe had actually been a great person, but she'd only realized it as the girl died. Sad, right? Thalia had ended up hating a girl, two girls, actually, her whole life just because they felt the same way about a guy. It was so stupid. And, as Thalia thought about it now, the other two girls had both been Hunters, so there was no way they could have felt that way about a guy, or else they would have lost their maidenhood. They'd probably lost their feelings for him as soon as they took the oath.

Shaking her head in dismay, the girl granted her attention once again to her dramatic diary with a sigh.

_I don't really know what happened after the Hunters won, because I was still gagging from the acidic smell in the air, but I immediately confronted Percy as soon as I was able to stand._

"_PERSEUS JACKSON!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, storming towards the villain. I must have looked really intimidating with my shield out, or smelled of rotten eggs really bad, because everyone cowered away from me after swiveling their heads to look. Everyone, that is, except Percy. _

_The _nerve _of him, not even bothering to cringe! I looked absolutely terrifying at that moment, and he didn't even wince, just flinched minisculely when I shouted in his face. "What in the name of the gods were you THINKING?" _

_Apparently then was not a good time to get onto his case, because he just balled his hands into tight fists and said through his teeth, "I got the flag, Thalia! I saw a chance and I took it!" _

_I was honestly very surprised. Still am, actually. I guess Percy had a bad day or something, because he usually just grits his teeth and bears it when I yell at him. He's only fought back once or twice, so I don't know what's up with him. But the idea that he was more upset than me really ticked me off, I think. See, told you I'm competitive._

"_I WAS AT THEIR BASE!" I screamed, making sure the volume of my voice was louder than his had been. "But the flag was gone. If you hadn't butted in, we would've won."_

"_You had too many on you!" he said defensively. Nope, no excuses. _

"_Oh, so it's my fault?" I bit back snarkily. No way was I gonna let him off easy._

"_I didn't say that," he said, trying to backtrack. This was it. I was gonna end the fight right now, before this escalated. I would have the last word, and I would win the argument as usual with him feeling miserable for feeling dumb and me feeling triumphant for being the winner of yet another debate. So I gave a slight yell, "Agh!", and then I shoved him._

When she read those words, Thalia grimaced instinctively, knowing what was coming.

_I guess I got a little too rough, or got really upset, but I pushed Percy way harder than I meant to. I had meant to only shove him a foot or two, and even added in a little playful shock, but I guess I was way more upset than I thought, and didn't realize he was still wet from the creek, because the result was scary. Percy blasted backwards with the impact of the shock, and landed ten feet back in the creek. _

_I immediately felt terrible, of course, but the damage was done. The crowd went silent with a collective gasp, and there was a person or two in the back that dared to chuckle. I did my best to apologize, but knew it was no use._

""_Sorry! I didn't mean to-"_

_A giant wave thrust up from the creek, resembling a hand too much for my taste; it was like Percy controlled the angry wave while it knocked me down, which wasn't too hard to believe. "Yeah. I didn't either" he said, standing up with a scowl plastered on his face, a new look that I hadn't seen before. His face right then was so foreboding and ominous that I would have wet myself if the wave hadn't done it for me. _

Thalia leaned back on the pier, drawing her feet up onto the dock and her fluffy coat cushioning her back from the hard wooden planks. She distinctly remembered the expression on Percy's face that day. It was truly one of the most terrifying things she'd ever seen, and, thankfully, it had never been directed at her after that incident. Thalia's memories of the fight, however, were scarce after that. She knew she had been too stubborn to let it go at that, so she eagerly flipped open the diary again, ready to know what happened next. It was almost like her life was documented in a book, maybe even a series, and she was reading about it now.

_But one thing you should know about me, Dear Diary, is that I _hate _being wet. It's common knowledge that water and lightning don't mix well, and when they do, they create a storm. So that's what me and Percy conjured up._

_Against Chiron's wishes, I thrust out my spear and gestured to Percy. "You want some, Seaweed Brain?" I taunted. I knew he hated it when I called him that._

"_Bring it on, Pinecone Face!" he returned. My nostrils flared. Although we usually teased each other with those nicknames, they didn't seem so funny at the moment. A few people in the crowd laughed at his insult, and I snapped. I was Thalia Grace. _Nobody _insults me. _

_Gods, _Thalia thought with a shake of her head. _I was so cocky. _

_I let loose a battle cry of rage, my hair standing on end as I thrust my spear towards the sky and called down a massive lightning bolt. The blast made Percy's sword look so pathetic as it fell out of his hands, his hair and clothes singed from the deep-frying session._

"_Thalia! That is _enough!" _Chiron ordered. He turned to Percy as the son of Poseidon stood up, calling forth a typhoon of icy water from the tiny creek, drying it in an instant. "Percy!" He implored. _

_Percy was about to let the waves crash down around me, no doubt an experience that would be similar to that of the night the Titanic sank, when he released the water and-_

Thalia closed the book at that point. She knew what happened after that, her memory of that day now fully intact. The Oracle, the Prophecy, the quest, Cheez Wiz. She didn't need to read the diary anymore to figure the rest out.

Moral of the story, Thalia thought to herself bitterly, is to never fall in love with Percy Jackson. You'll just get your heart broken.

She had gone for quite a time with an intense crush on Percy. Then the Prophecy happened. She made up the story about joining the Hunters for the sake of the Prophecy. Percy would be the hero. She would not. And that was partially true: she didn't deserve to be the Savior. Percy did. But truthfully the only real reason she joined the hunt was to get away from him.

Thalia had once thought that she could join the hunt to stop herself from falling in love with Percy, and it had actually worked for a while. But then he'd gone and gotten himself kidnapped by Hera, and she realized how much she missed him during those unbearable eight months.

Sure, she had been accepted as a Hunter of Artemis, trusted by the goddess, surrounded by a dozen sisters who could never fall in love and keep their maidenhood, supposedly. But that didn't seem true anymore. Thalia was certain that Zoe Nightshade and another Hunter had both died in love with Percy. She secretly suspected that Artemis knew of their feelings for Percy, maybe even sympathized with them, though why she had no idea; otherwise, the goddess would have certainly kicked the three girls out of the Hunt. So Thalia supposed an oath was just an oath, one that she had to uphold; apparently her heart didn't care about oaths. It did what it pleased.

"Thalia!" she suddenly heard someone call. She froze and turned around, very, very slowly.

"Percy!" she cried, leaping into his outstretched arms. He was much taller than her now, since he looked a year older than her at age sixteen. Sometimes being fifteen forever really sucked.

"What's up?" she asked curiously. She tried to seem nonchalant, but really she was taking in everything about him: his excited green eyes, his windswept, jet black hair, his flushed pink cheeks. She sighed quietly to herself.

"Come with me," was the only answer he gave. Mischievously, Thalia noted.

They walked along a trail back towards camp and stopped at the steps of the Big House. He took her hand in his and grinned like a kid on Christmas morning. "You're going to love this," he whispered in her ear before pulling her in through the front door. The room was dark, and Thalia was momentarily frightened, so she was already in a battle stance when the lights flicked on, bodies burst out, and there was a tremendous shout. She had already grabbed her bow and was notching an arrow when she heard:

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

* * *

**Yay, she got a birthday party! Happy ending. Sort of. Anyone who can guess who the next chapter will be about gets a blue chocolate chip cookie from Sally Jackson... Not really. Vote on my poll, please! (It's on my profile). Please favorite, follow, and above all, REVIEW! Here's the Q:**

**Which do you ship more: Jasper or Frazel?**

**That's it for now. Thank you everyone. Love to all. Have a grrrrrreat day! (Tony the Tiger)**

**~Kristen Green**


	7. Bianca

**Greetings, Earthlings! First of all, if you don't recognize this username, it's because I've changed it. The other one just felt too impersonal (let me clarify that Kristen Green is **_**not **_**my name), and I liked this one better. It's a PJO reference for those who care enough. :) Secondly, I'm SO sorry for not updating yesterday, but I had personal stuff going on. To make up for it, this is the longest chapter so far (4,500 words), although it might not be the best one either. Sorry. Anyway, I also wanted to clear something up for anyone who is confused: in each chapter, there will be a section that is text from the book that follows it exactly, just in a different POV. Lastly, I'm going to start giving shout-outs at the bottom of the chapter, because I hate long ANs at the beginning of a chapter; the end is much better because you can sometimes skip it. Also, PLEASE vote on the poll on my profile : it would mean a lot to me, and it's super easy to do. Anyway, I hope you enjoy Chapter 7 of "Everyone Loves Percy." Here ya go:**

**Disclaimer: My name is neither Kristen Green nor Rick Riordan. But you **_**can**_** call me Princess Andromeda II.**

**(text from: the Titan's Curse, chapter 13)**

* * *

**Bianca**

Reincarnation is a funny thing.

You'd think that once you were reborn you wouldn't remember anything from your past life, wouldn't you? That your new life would make you a whole new person. That you wouldn't have any memories from your other life. That you would be entirely different. Fresh. New.

Well, that certainly wasn't the case with Bianca di Angelo.

Maybe it was true for others. Maybe other people who were reborn got the oppurtunity to be made new. Maybe they really didn't remember anything else from before their new life. Possibly they didn't even know their new life was new at all. Perhaps that was the case, and most truly did forget their first life, and the Fates had just made a special exception for Bianca, which wouldn't really be that surprising.

Or maybe everyone was supposed to remember their other lives whenever they were reincarnated, to help them learn from their past mistakes and to know how to live this new life better. That made more sense to her anyway.

Either way, Bianca was stuck with her old memories. Everything, from faint memories of Italy that had all since faded away but a few; the hazy, nebulous time period inside of the Lotus Hotel and Casino that had been like a dense fog; the wild, chaotic world of emerging out of the fog of the past and into the glaring light of the 21st century; the burning fire from within of being a Hunter of Artemis that had filled her with immense pride and happiness; the depressing, and, oddly moist sensation of dying and passing into the afterlife; and, most recently, the disorienting feeling of being reborn into a new life, which she had chosen. Eventually she hoped to achieve access onto the Isles of the Blest, but in order to do so she would have to be allowed into Elysium three times through rebirth. _One down, two to go, _she thought to herself morbidly.

As she scurried down the streets of New Rome, people bustling around the center fountain and shop vendors calling out allegedly low prices, Bianca began to think to herself of the odds that she would end up where she did. In a place where at one point she had been able to watch over him all day- NOPE, she would not think about him today. But she really was in a life not too different from the world she had discovered only a few days before her death. Truly, the world of the Roman demigods wasn't all that different from that of the Greeks.

There were definitely some major similarities. Both had camps that served as a safe haven for demigods. Both had gods (obviously). Both always seemed to be mixed up in some sort of trouble. But Camp Jupiter was entirely different from Camp Half-Blood, it seemed. The Roman demigods could live at Camp Jupiter for as long as they wanted and be certain of their safety from monsters, while the Greek camp was more of a temporary place for young demigods, as if nobody expected them to live long.

But perhaps no Greek demigods were expected to live that long _because _they didn't have a safe place to live like the Romans did. That was one thing that was definitely better about this place than Camp Half-Blood. Although, when Bianca had first been reborn, she had noticed a gaping hole in the perks of this place, one that had eventually been filled only to be unplugged just as quickly, almost as if the cork had been yanked out violently. That had been when- nope, she was NOT going to think about that today.

That had only been two years ago when she was reborn. Yet, somehow, she could remember being born, as if she had kept her brain from her life as Bianca di Angelo. Maybe that's why she was able to speak so well for her age. Most people were astounded at her vocabulary, though she tried to tone it down a bit so as not to freak too many people out. She even looked older: maybe five or six years old. Bianca guessed that she had grown a little faster than normal due to the fact that she was the offspring of a mortal man named Hank and Maia, the Roman goddess of growth. So at this point she wasn't really caught off guard anymore when people inquired about her age; after all, even in a world filled with demigods, fauns, and gorgons, it might be a bit disturbing to see a toddler that looks like a six-year-old.

Bianca's thoughts were shattered by a wooden cart cutting rapidly across her path: an excellent reminder to herself that now was not the time to daydream, and she needed to pay better attention to where she was going. She was already late for work since she'd overslept, so it'd be a shame to die so suddenly and not achieve Elysium just because her tired thoughts had been too jumbled to keep a vigilant eye out for the ordinary dangers of traffic. Bianca proceeded, though this time checking both ways before crossing to the other side of the street.

Once she was safely passed, she picked up her pace again and broke into a run, taking in the glorious sights of the city as she always did on her way to work. She offered a brisk "hello" to anyone she came across, often getting an equal verbal greeting, a smile, a wave, or even a nod. Bianca was known as a sweetheart now, always cheerful and chipper as a morning bird. It was such a contrast to the way she'd been in her previous life, so dark and moody.

Bianca recalled once again her transformation from the innocent and naive Italian girl growing up in Venice who used to love flowers, into the weird emotional girl who had long bangs and would always wear a floppy hat to cover her face, and finally into the strong, determined Hunter of Artemis that she'd been proud to be: courageous, excellent at hunting, and surrounded by a band of sisters that had immediately felt like family. Then all of it had ended when she'd sacrificed herself for the sake of the quest. For Annabeth. For her friends. For- nope, she was NOT going to think about that today, she reminded herself again. Why should she think about the past on a day like today? The past was dark and shaded in misery, while the present was lovely and cheerful. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining. And although it was extra hot today, the heat felt good for now. All was good with the world.

She was in an extra good mood today, because news had come through her mother (after all, a goddess is going to have connections, right?) that the Athena Parthenos had finally been retrieved. Bianca prayed that that meant both peace between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter (the Roman and Greek camps rarely got along, and there were whispers from the gods that a war was coming eventually, a final showdown of sorts), and also that those who had embarked on the quest would be allowed to come home.

Bianca mentally scrolled through the list in her head, checking off the demigods one by one as she jogged through the marketplace: _Hazel Grace- ooh, she's nice. I like her. Frank Zhang- I think he's the one that can turn into animals. Wasn't he a panda one time? _she thought as she turned another corner, starting to huff and puff from the effort of running. Despite her heavy breathing, she continued though her list: _Leo Valdez- Isn't he the one that started firing on New Rome? Hmm, odd that they'd let him go on the quest. Piper McLean- I don't remember much about her other than she's really pretty. Pff, Aphrodite girls. They're just a bunch of pretty faces. _She immediately felt guilty as she thought of her old friend Phoebe, who, althogh being a daughter of Aphrodite, had joined the Hunt long ago. Look at her: she was the Hunters' most valuable tracker and healer. She really missed the other Hunters... She quickly turned her attention back to counting off the members of the quest so as not to become so depressed and distracted that she nearly get run over again. _Jason Grace- Oh, I remember Jason! He used to talk to me on his way to the Senate. Well, before he disappeared for a few months anyway. _Bianca frowned and once again forced herself to remain positive, although she could feel her happiness level dropping rapidly, along with her energy levels. The fatigue and frown only worsened further as she realized who was next. _Annabeth Chase- I've never really been too fond of her. Too bad she didn't ever join the Hunt though. She would've been a good addition, since she's so smart. And... Percy Jackson._

NOPE! her head screamed at her, along with her burning calf muscles. Today is a good day, you will NOT think about him today. Not today. Not now.

But her heart wasn't listening. No pun intended, but Bianca's heart had a mind all its own. And right now, it was going to do what it wanted.

Bianca's post was so close that she could see it up ahead, but for some reason, her unexplained exhaustion and her stubborn emotions gave out, and she dropped like a rock, the bright sun overhead dimming rapidly as frantic voices around her began to spin into a memory.

"_What did she _want _with you?" Bianca immediately demanded. Percy had just finished telling them about his chat with Aphrodite, and she was still seething. She didn't know why she was so mad; all she knew was that she absolutely loathed the idea of seeing the love goddess anywhere near Percy. It didn't feel right, and besides, she had heard rumors from the Hunters about the goddess's affection towards certain heroes. She didn't like what she'd heard._

"_...I agree with Zoe," Thalia was saying. Whoa! The two of them agreeing on something? Shocker. "You can't trust Aphrodite." _Hallelujah, _was all Bianca thought._

_Percy seemed nervous as he changed the subject. "So, how do we get out of here?"_

_Bianca, eager to impress him with her knowledge for some reason, tried to answer, but Zoe beat her to it, and she frowned in response. "That way. That is west." _

"_How can you tell?" Percy asked, and was answered with an impatient eye roll from Zoe._

"_Ursa Major is in the north, which means _that _must be west."_

"_Oh yeah, the bear thing," Percy added, and Bianca fought the urge to giggle at the expression of disbelief on Zoe's face. It gave her an odd sort of satisfaction to know that, no matter how much the older obsessed about the son of Poseidon to Bianca, the two would never be on the same level of sincerity. In the end, there was no way it could work out, _that _she knew._

"_Show some respect. It was a fine bear. A worthy opponent."_

"_You talk about it as if it was real." Again Bianca stifled a laugh as they neared mounds of...trash? Odd._

_The mountain was made up of a nice variety of trash: statues, TV's, a bathtub, swords, shields, a refrigerator, and many more random things. Something glinted gold in the corner of Bianca's eye; a sword or armor, most likely._

_Anxious to beat Zoe to the topic at hand, Bianca blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "Whoa. That stuff... some of it looks like real gold." She immediately felt like an idiot by the way she said it, slurred and obvious. She expected Zoe to perk up with some fact that would show her up, but was surprised that when the girl opened her mouth to respond, Thalia's voice came out instead. _

"_It is. Like Percy said," -_Oh, _thought Bianca to herself, _so now we're repeating what he said to show we were paying attention? I see. "_don't touch anything. This is the junkyard of the gods." Had he said that? She couldn't remember. Still, she found it odd that Thalia had piped up too. Was it possible that all three girls on this quest felt the same way about the same boy, who was obviously NOT Grover. No offense to him, of course._

_As they group made their way through the junkyard, they seemed to split up at one especially large mound, Thalia and Grover going to the left while the other three went to the right. Bianca, knowing that now was her chance to show off a little for Percy, looked around the yard for something of interest. Down the hill a little, she spied something glinting silver in the moonlight. She immediately recognized it, and picked it up after she'd raced down to retrieve it._

"_Look! A Hunter's bow!" she said, showing it to Zoe and Percy with interest. Already knowing what it would do when she plucked the bow string, she gave a little yip of amazement as it shrank down to a hair clip. Adding as much enthusiasm into her voice as possible, she showed it to the son of Poseidon, trying desperately to interst him in something. "It's just like Percy's sword!" _

_For a moment, Bianca thought she had him hooked. His eyes grew wide and his face lit up, but it quickly dimmed as Zoe decided to be an Eeyore about the situation, saying, "Leave it, Bianca." Why did she have to be like this?_

"_But-" she protested._

"_It is here for a reason," the older girl stated bluntly, like a teacher lecturing a student on a simple matter. "Anything thrown away in this junkyard must stay in this yard. It is defective. Or cursed."_

_Reluctantly, Bianca obliged by setting the bow back down where she'd gotten it. Embarrassed, she slunk off in the opposite direction by herself. The others were already marvelling over other things anyway. Nobody would probably even notice she was gone. _Especially Percy_, she thought glumly._

_She sat down with a sigh, dejected. The poor guy was so clueless, he couldn't seem to get the idea that she was head-over-heels for him. She'd done everything she could in the short time she'd known him, but she hoped she'd win him eventually. Looking around for something interesting, Bianca was surprised to see something else she recognized. It was one of those figures from that game her little brother liked. Mythomagic, she recalled. Forgetting everything else except her melancholiness, Bianca shrugged and slipped the small figurine into her Hunter jacket. She was filled with an odd sensation that she was doing something wrong, although she couldn't remember why. It was a bit like what she imagined shoplifting in a store felt like, though that was odd. She couldn't figure out why she had that sensation. Shrugging it off, Bianca stood up and rejoined the others as she spied them come around the side of a mound of trash._

_They passed through most of the junkyard without further incident, so Bianca was surprised to see what looked like a metallic hill between the five members of the quest and the edge of the junkyard, the highway._

_Astonishment was clear in her voice as she gasped, "What is that?" The image finally taking on some form in her mind, Bianca frowned. "They look like-"_

"_Toes," Grover interjected, to which she nodded._

"_Really, really large toes." For some reason, Zoe and Thalia shared a look, and voiced their concerns over passing through this way, to which Percy and Bianca (mentally) protested. The two girls' paranoia only enhanced as Grover freaked them out by kicking one of the toes. Finally they left the creepy feet and the jumbo junkyard behind, much to all of their relief. Zoe voiced that feeling as their feet touched the black asphalt of he highway. _

"_We made it out. Thank the gods," she said. _Amen, _Bianca thought. _

_Apparently, the gods didn't like that kind of thanks, because suddenly there was an ear grinding sound that sent shivers up Bianca's spine, causing her to cringe and grit her teeth. Whirling around, she was horrified to see something that was similar to the monsters that haunted her nightmares. An armor-clad Greek giant, whose body seemed to rise up out of the junkyard like a ghost. Bianca thought she had just heard someone call it "Talos," although she couldn't be sure; her knees were too busy knocking against each other for her to pay much attention to what the others were saying. Were it not for Talos's terrifying height and his gnashing teeth that sounded like nails on a chalkboard, Bianca might have had the nerve to laugh at the words on his chest that read "Wash Me." The hundred-foot sword the giant pulled out of his sheath wasn't quite as funny. _

"_Someone took something. Who took something?" Zoe demanded. Bianca was too ashamed to answer. _

_Of course! That's what had felt wrong! Now she remembered Percy saying not to take anything, and Thalia, bless her soul, even repeating his very words. Her immense guilt weighed her down while the others began to attack Talos, Bianca herself only worsening her shame by hiding behind a chariot. She felt even more terrible, if it was possible, when Percy slid next to her._

"_You took something," he said. "That bow."_

"_No," she said, the way her voice shook giving her away._

"_Give it back! Throw it down!" he yelled, the tremor in his voice frightening her._

"_I...I didn't take the bow! Besides, it's too late."_

"_What did you take?" he demanded. She opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by Percy's order. "Move!" he ordered, and she obeyed by tearing down the hill after him. They rolled to a stop, tumbling down the rest of the way, and Bianca was oddly reminded of the nursery rhyme "Jack and Jill." Bianca was thankful for Grover as he distracted the giant from Percy and her, because it gave her time to think about what she'd done. She needed to fix this. She ignored Percy, for once, when he told her to move again, instead drawing the Mythomagic figure out of her pocket to look at it. How could something this small cause a problem as big as Thalos?_

"_It...it was for Nico," she explained. "It was the only statue he didn't have."_

"_How can you think of Mythomagic at a time like this?" Bianca could feel her eyes brimming with tears as Percy scolded her. "Throw it down," he said. "Maybe the giant will leave us alone." She did as she was told, disappointment overwhelming her when nothing happened. About twenty seconds later, Percy seemed to spot something on the giant. He turned to her, a mischievous grin on his face. "Crazy-idea time." He stated. _

_Bianca gave him a small, anxious smile. "Anything," she promised._

_He pointed to the maintenance hatch on the bottom of Talos's foot. "There may be a way to control thing. Switches or something. I'm going to get inside."_

_Bianca was shocked, and managed to stammer out, "How? You'll have to stand under its foot! You'll be crushed."_

_Percy got a look in his eye that Bianca had come to resspect and love in the short while that they'd known each other. It was a gleam that said he'd do anything to protect his friends. Even sacrifice thought of that happening was unthinkable, and she felt like her heart would burst. She would __**not **__let Percy die for some stupid mistake she'd made. She straightened up and clenched her jaw with determination._

"_No. I'll go."_

"_You can't! You're new at this! You'll die."_

"_It's my fault the monster came after us. It's my responsibility. Here," she said, handing him the Mythomagic figurine. "If anything happens, give that to Nico. Tell him...tell him I'm sorry." Oddly, all Bianca could think about right then was how she always seemed to be such a stuttering and stammering mess around Percy. She turned around and ran toward Talos. _

_Despite Percy's protests, Thalia's distractions, and Zoe's arrows, all Bianca was thinking about was getting to Talos. She was faintly aware of ordering the older Hunter to get the giant to raise his foot, and then she remembered herself, jumping onto his feet and latching herself onto the maintenance door and catching one last glimpse of her friends below, helping her succeed. Percy, staring at her wide-eyed, willing to _die _for her if he had to._

_But he wouldn't have to. Not right now._

_Bianca was a whirlwind. Unlocking the door. Crawling inside. Throwing the hatch shut as the foot connected with the ground. Scurrying up the leg. Worming into the stomach. Operating the control panel. Sensing herself in freefall. Slamming into the ground. Dying._

_And then Bianca di Angelo was no more. _

_Only a sense of fading into black..._

...Now only a sense of fading _out _of black, into the harsh daylight of reality.

"I think she passed out."

"She must have bonked her head." Voices overhead were blurry as they worried over her.

"No, you idiots," said a familiar voice further off. "She fainted from the exhaustion of running here in the heat because she was _late._" Bianca sat up in her small form, feeling very cramped and crowded in this tiny body when only moments ago she had felt like her old self again. She looked to her right to see an armless statue staring her in the face, glaring.

"Julia!" he told her. "Get over here and do your job!"

* * *

**Surprise! Bianca is Julia in her second life! Now, before anyone screams at me, I do know that Percy and Bianca were both 14 in Titan's Curse, and that Percy was only 16 in MoA while Julia looked 6. I did the best I could, honestly, and come on people: it's called fan****_fiction _****for a reason! Anyway, here are the shout-outs for Chapter 6:**

**jigulifpuff0707: Yay, you were right! It ****_was _****about Bianca! Congrats. :)**

**CrowleyKingofHell: OK, I believe you. You honestly sound horrifically evil. Thanks for kind of liking my story anyway. :)**

**MarburyBlur: I love your reviews! Obviously, you were right about Bianca. #frazelforever. And for now, no Solangelo. Sorry. Maybe eventually though.**

**Alice Acee: You were kinda right. I'm going to do one of those eventually (not gonna tell you which) but thanks for taking the time to review and take a guess anyway.**

**Firefox: Sorry, it was Bianca. Don't worry, I'm going to do them both eventually.**

**Guest #1: It was Bianca; thanks for guessing though. I promise I'll do her at some point though! Also, please leave a name next time you review so I can recognize you better! Thank you.**

**kingpariah: Well, obviously I've already PMed you a bunch about your review, but thanks for reviewing anyway! I always look forward to your reviews. You're awesome. :)**

**RoboMonkey101: I think I already responded in PM, but I'll thank you again anyway. That is such a huge, sweet compliment, but it is actually my first fanfic, and I'm glad you like it so much. I hope you're having success with your own story!**

**infinityowl: First, nice name. And yes, frazel is the bomb. They're like a cute old married couple in the bodies of teenagers!**

**Guest #2: They are under credited, aren't they? I'd never thought about that before. Everyone always just focuses on Percabeth. Let's see some more Jasper and Frazel fanfic stories!**

**The 6th Spectral King: Still hilarious and scary as ever, I see. Glad you liked the chapter, and PATIENCE: she's coming. Maybe.**

**BrittanyLP: Not sure if that's a good or bad surprised, but I guess I'm glad it just gave you some sort of reaction. Love your reviews. And LOL Persassy ****_is _****our ruler!**

**nahte123456: Easy username, I like it. Thanks for both your reviews ( I saw the one for Ch. 5 too). And I agree with what you said: he's like the perfect hero, but he's perfect ****_because _****he has a weakness. I guess it's what makes him human, otherwise he'd be the ultimate god. I love your reasoning behind choosing Frazel, but what is a "yes man"? IDK. Thanks again.**

**Guest #3: Um, no, Reyna was Chapter 3. Thanks for reviewing anyway!**

**Alright, well thanks again to all who reviewed, favorited, followed, and voted on my profile poll. Please continue to do so, especially if you have not done that yet. Thank you so much, you lovely readers. You make my day wonderful! Have a wonderful week, and if you're finishing up school (like me), feel free to tell me about your summer plans in your review. Here's the Q:**

**Who is your favorite ****_minor _****character from PJO (****_not _****Hoo)? Why?**

**That's all, and thank you again. I love you!**

**~Princess Andromeda II**


	8. Artemis

**Well hey there everyone! Nice to see that you have returned for yet another chapter in my story. I appreciate that. Alright, so, like I said in the last chapter, I will be doing shout-outs for reviews at the bottom now, so look down there if you reviewed for Ch. 7. I have gotten so many requests to do Artemis for Ch. 8, and fortunately I already planned to do her for this chapter. There is a bunch of text towards the end that has italics and bold. So to avoid any confusion, Italics = Artemis, and Bold = Apollo. Um... yeah, short but sweet AN. Alright, enjoy Chapter 8 of "Everyone Loves Percy"!**

**Disclaimer: If I was Rick Riordan, I would be writing successfully for a living. But I'm not, so...**

**(text from: the Titan's Curse, chapter 2)**

* * *

**Artemis**

"PUT DOWN THE TRIDENT!"

"QUIT THROWING LIGHTNING BOLTS!"

"LET'S START A WAR!"

"I'M SO PRETTY!"

Artemis sighed. She was _so _tired of this meeting. The gathering, which had now been going on for well over four hours, had consisted only of a bunch of rubbish. Constant bickering and arguing. So far the only progress that the Olympians had made had been angering each other further than when they first began the meeting, if that was even possible.

Out of the corner of her eye, Artemis saw Apollo yawning. She was glad someone else was bothered by the efficiency rate. She turned to look at her brother, trying to communicate with him silently. Due either to their sibling senses or their twin powers, he immediately caught her eye, and he grinned at her. The yawn her brother was engaged in morphed into a disturbing, open-mouthed grimace that made Artemis laugh, drawing the attention of the goddesses on either side of her. In return to Athena and Aphrodite's questioning stares, she gave them a glare that she always fixed on a monster she was about to kill. The intimidation method worked, as always, because both of the goddesses turned away quickly.

Satisfied with her menacing glare, Artemis glanced back at Apollo across from her. He had moved on to picking his nose, much to her disgust. He seemed to be quite absorbed in it too; that is, until she gave him a hard stare that caused him to blush and wipe away whatever he'd found inside his nose on his toga. Artemis noted that he had worn the toga today, as he always did when he was trying to be professional for an Olympian council meeting. He caught her scrutinizing his attire, and he managed to flash her a cocky grin with that carefree attitude that Artemis once again envied.

It wasn't fair that he could be so aloof when she had to be "the responsible one." From day one when they were born, Artemis had been pegged that label by all because she was born first. True, she enjoyed being the more mature of the twins, but it certainly wouldn't hurt him to try to act like an adult every few eons or so, would it?

Although, Apollo wouldn't be the same goofy brother that she loved now if he had to be the mature one. His annoying, selfish ways were somehow endearing. Maybe it was because, as his sister, Artemis was required to love him unconditionally, no matter what. But she still liked him better like this, she decided.

Finally achieving eye contact with her twin, Artemis mouthed a message to him. _Are you okay? _Apollo nodded, giving her a small smile, but she was doubtful. He was looking much more subdued and thoughtful, perhaps even depressed, today than usual. True, Olympian meetings were always enough to dampen everyone's spirits, but Apollo was frequently one of the chipper ones that encouraged positive discussions during the gathering. Today though, he seemed distant, like he was pondering something that required a lot of effort to think about it. So that meant his thoughts were either centered around girls (like Daphne), as usual, or a more pressing matter at the moment: Percy Jackson.

Swallowing, Artemis raised an eyebrow to show her disbelief that he was alright, and her brother grinned wider and waved away her concerns. He then mouthed something to her, and she had no trouble understanding what he was saying. _Ask him now. _For good measure, he pointed to the menacing giant at the end of the room who was bellowing about nonsense like normal. Artemis gulped again and turned to face the scary god.

He was by far the scariest thing in the room right now. His hair seemed to stand up on its own, as it did when he was angry (which was often), or when he was constipated (which was also often.) His eyes blazed with fire, a sure sign that he was furious and was likely about to kill anyone who intervened with him. In his balled fists she spied his trusty lightning bolt, which was easily one of the most powerful weapons of all time. He was Lord Zeus, King of the Gods.

He was also her dad. Yay.

Although he always seemed to be in a bad mood, he was in an exceptionally foul mood right now. He looked irritated, a look that Artemis did not enjoy. She stared at her brother incredulously, mouthing _Are you crazy? Not now! _Unfortunately, Apollo was so dimwitted that he seemed to take her words to mean _Are you lazy? Hot cow! _Once she had repeated and clarified her message for him, her brother gave her an odd gaze. He seemed to ask with his eyes, _Why? What's the problem? _When she only stared at him, he finally understood. _Oh. Well, why do you care what happens to the son of Poseidon so much? He's just a demigod. _Artemis shook her head. Percy Jackson wasn't just a demigod. He was the Savior of Olympus, one of Hera's chosen heroes of Olympus, and easily the most powerful demigod in centuries.

And right now he was in Tartarus.

It was all the buzz in the modern Greek and Roman worlds right now. Both Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter were frantic, not knowing what to do if one of their most valuable campers disappeared for good, which appeared it would be. Percy Jackson was well known for being an extremely talented swordsman, as well as a true master of his demigod powers. All over the country there was talk of sending out search parties, hiring professional demigod-locators, and even calling the cops and reporting a kidnapping incident. In fact, that very matter was the topic of discussion for this particular Olympian meeting: what to do about Percy Jackson.

That brought Apollo's question to the forefront of Artemis's mind once again. Why _did _she care about Percy Jackson this much? Like her brother said, he was only a demigod. And she'd met plenty of those in her extensively lengthy lifetime. Heracles, Jason, Perseus (the first one), Achilles, Odysseus... They'd all been major heart throbs too.

WAIT- Did she just call Percy Jackson a heart throb? Ew, no. She meant from an objective point of view, of course. She was the maiden goddess. The virgin goddess. She wasn't supposed to find men attractive; that was the whole point. She'd made that mistake once before with Orion, and that hadn't ended well at all. No, she would never fall for a guy again. But... she could admit if someone was good-looking, right? That didn't mean she liked him. There was a huge difference, after all, between liking someone and being able to tell whether or not they were cute.

So, why did she care about him? She knew the answer. _Respect_, she mouthed to her brother directly across the hall from her. He gave a nod like he understood, but motioned with his hand as though he wanted to know why she respected him, what he'd done to earn her respect. It was well known by all that it was very hard for Artemis to like, no, _respect_ any men, so he was likely very curious to know what had occurred to allow Percy Jackson to make the cut.

Rather than exhaust herself and her brother by trying to mouthe the whole story to him, Artemis decided it would just be easier to tell it to him mentally, which probably would have been easier to do from the start. Whether it was just a regular power of the gods or a special twin/sibling connection or both, Artemis and Apollo could communicate telepathically, which came in handy at times when they were very bored, like now for instance. Artemis tapped her head with her index finger to indicate that she would talk to him in his brain, since he sometimes freaked out and forgot they could talk to each other that way if she didn't warn him in advance.

_Well, _she began, _it all started about three years ago, when I first met Percy Jackson..._

_My Hunters howled wildly as they raced through the woods. _

_At the sight of the manticore and the cornered demigods up ahead, they sped up their sprinting and reached the group in no time. My Hunters immediately began to attack the monster with an onslaught of arrows. I stayed in the back of the group, sweeping my eyes across the group of children before me: 6 demigods. Wait, no. 5 demigods and a satyr. _

_I saw two siblings, a girl and a boy who looked as though they might be related on both sides of their parents. Both had dark hair and dark eyes, and they stood next to each other, so huddled that it was obvious they were very close. The older sister wore a dark floppy hat and the younger brother looked very similar, although less closed-off and more innocent._

_There was a wispy-haired satyr that I did not recognize, although that wasn't unusual, who stood by two girl demigods, both of which I recognized. Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, was somewhat of a legend, not only being a child of the Big Three, but also being turned into a tree._

She paused momentarily. _Sound familiar, dear brother? _she said sweetly.

**Ugh, **he groaned. **No need to remind me of Daphne. That was hard enough without all of your teasing. Now get back to the story. This is actually kind of interesting.**

_Gee, glad my life is so entertaining, _she said sarcastically. _Anyway, the daughter of Zeus seemed to be quite courageous, and a fierce fighter, but a bit too defiant. The girl beside her was Annabeth Chase. The blonde-haired brainiac was a daughter of Athena, who is well-known for her love of architecture and her hopes of one day rebuilding Olympus as she sees fit. I had tried to recruit both of them to my group of hunters many times, but had been denied each time. I had often wondered why, but all my questions were answered once I saw the fifth and final demigod in the group._

_My first thought: stunning sea green eyes unlike any I'd ever seen before. Following thought: mop of jet black hair that was a naturally windswept look. He looked to be about 14 years old. He was fairly muscular. And he was stunning. I knew of only one demigod that fit that description: Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. Although I'd never met him or seen him before, I'd heard way too many women talk about him for me to not know him when I saw him. Everyone seemed to obsess about him: goddesses, nymphs, demigods, and even some of my Hunters, although I pretend not to overhear for their sake. I don't have the heart nowadays to kick out any of my Hunters for how they feel, so long as they don't consider leaving the Hunt for a guy. _

**Fair enough, **her brother said cockily, checking himself out simultaneously with a hand mirror.

_Back to the story, dear brother. With some embarrassment, I realized I had been staring at the son of Poseidon, and I forced myself to turn my attention back to the situation at hand. Before they could truly begin the fight, Zoe Nightshade stepped forward and spoke without taking her gaze off of the beast._

"_Permission to kill my lady?"_

"_This is not fair!" the manticore complained. He was an ugly fellow, I decided, with different eye colors: one brown, one blue. "Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws!"_

"_Not so," I said breezily, stepping forward. I noted out of the corner of my eye, with some satisfaction, that the son of Poseidon had been surprised by my beauty. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast. Zoe," I said, turning back to my lieutenant, "permission granted."_

_Chaos ensued after that. The manticore lunging at the son of Poseidon. The daughter of Athena defending him. The Hunters shooting at the manticore. The manticore kidnapping the the daughter of Athena. The shock in the air was so palpable that I felt it needed to be a moment of tense silence, but instead what followed was the popping sound of gunfire._

_I was still so upset by Annabeth's capture, although I tried not to show it, that I was surprised I stated simply, "Mortals are not allowed to witness my hunt." With a simple thrust of my hand, the aircraft magically disassembled into a flock of ravens. _

**Your favorite bird, **Apollo noted with pleasure.

_Right you are, dear brother. After that, there was a bit of a clash between Zoe Nightshade and Thalia Grace, which was to be expected. I suspect that they despise each other so much because each is deeply in love with the son of Poseidon, although I would never mention it to either of them. Zoe then gave me the status report that I already knew. What had only moments ago been five demigods and a satyr was now four demigods and a satyr._

"_Some of Chiron's campers, I see" I said. I was trying to stay very diplomatic, although the loss of such a young maiden upset me greatly. The son of Poseidon also seemed very bothered. _

"_Annabeth!" he cried, panicked. "You have to let us save her!" The way he said her name bothered me, more than it should have. Were they a couple? It seemed likely._

"_I'm sorry, Percy Jackson," I said. "but your friend is beyond help." I don't know why I said that then. I knew that she wasn't too far gone for help. In fact, I knew where the manticore had taken her. But I wanted him to give up on her for some reason, to forget and move on. I think I may have been...jealous._

Her story was stopped short by outrageous laughter from her brother across the room. **You? Jealous? **he asked incredulously. **Wow, that's really something. You must have had it bad for this guy.**

_No I didn't, _Artemis protested. _I just acted in a rare moment of immaturity. I have nothing but great respect for him now. Anyway, even when he tried to get up, I made my Hunters hold him down, and I said, "You are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs." I thought then that that would be the end of it, and I would get the last word as a goddess. But the son of Poseidon surprised me yet again._

"_Let me go! Who do you think you are?" he demanded. I was so shocked and surprised. Nobody had ever spoken to me like that and lived to see another day. But I believe that I was so head-over-heels that I stopped Zoe Nightshade from hurting him and gave some sort of excuse to protect him from her._

"_No," I told her. "I sense no disrespect, Zoe. He is simply distraught. He does not understand. I am Artemis," I said, turning to face the boy. "Goddess of the Hunt."_

Apollo laughed uproariously, drawing more looks of confusion from nearby gods. **I bet the look of astonishment on his face was **_**priceless! **_he guffawed, earning a tentative smile from Artemis. It had been quite funny actually.

She was about to describe the exact reaction to her brother when she was interrupted by a ringing bell in the hall. All of the Twelve Olympians stood and ceased talking. With a wave of his hand, Zeus ordered the other eleven Olympians to be seated.

"It has been brought to my attention by a certain goddess of wisdom," he said pointedly, looking at a stoic Athena to Artemis's right, "that we need to actually decide what to do about this son of Poseidon. Um...what's his name again?"

"Peter Johnson!" Dionysus called placidly from the corner, which earned a scowl from Poseidon.

"Don't be a fool. His name is Percy Jackson," he said proudly. Artemis clapped silently from her seat. Dionysus's name mix-ups could be entertaining and amusing when the matter wasn't too serious. Like this was.

"WELL?!" barked Zeus, causing most of the Olympians to cringe. "Does anybody have any ideas about what to do?"

"Lord Zeus!" Artemis cried, rising from her seat. Apollo gave her a small thumbs-up of encouragement, and her confidence boosted ever-so slightly. "I propose that we go on a full-scale search for this demigod. Code Red. Send out dozens of search parties from both the Roman and Greek demigod camps. Alert every major and minor god of his absence and tell them to be on the look-out. Hunt down any monster that may know anything about how to get him out. Go to the Doors of Death and try to send him a message. Ask Lord Hades if he has any news of his whereabouts. This demigod is far too important to ignore. He has saved the world dozens of times over, and we need him to do so again. He could be the key to defeating Gaea. He has saved us, the gods, more times than I can count, and has never once complained about the enormous burden cast upon his small shoulders, strong as they are. We can not give up on him, just as he has never given up on us."

She took a deep breath and tried to calm the nerves that were making her heart race. "There is a rumor going around that I love Percy Jackson. I now want to put that rumor to rest by saying this: I do not love him. There may have been a time where I was attracted to him, but not anymore. I have only the deepest respect for him that I can give to a person. He has earned my trust and my respect, a feat which is not easy for most men. So I just want to end this by saying that it is time for us to live up to our duty as the gods and protectors of demigods. We _need _to help the son of Poseidon, or else I fear that we will be no better than the monsters that reside in Tartarus where he is confined now."

Zeus, surprisingly, was the one who began the spattered clapping, which quickly morphed into an ear-deafening applause in the Olympian council hall.

* * *

**Alright, well, it's not my best work, but c'est la vie (it's French; go look it up). Here are the shout-outs for Ch.7 reviews. Thanks to:**

**kingpariah: Hi! As always, you have the longest reviews. I think someone else beat you for the longest review for Ch.7 though. Watch out, you've got competition! JK, amazing review. I'm glad you liked the twist, and I know it was hard to believe, but I just figured it would be a fun plot twist to do. :) Glad you liked the chapter, but you still haven't gotten back to me on the question! Haha JK. :)**

**The 6th Spectral King: I love Nico too! I feel kinda bad for him though. His sister's death messed him up a bit I think, but he's still very cool. I'm sorry that you don't like being a primordial anymore, but your question is all wrong. It should be, "Who WOULDN'T want complete control over the skies?" Thanks again; please review again.**

**Guest #1: Unfortunately I can't remember who you are, sorry. I know we've talked though! Anyway, stay horrifically evil and please review again!**

**Lucian Naruto: Thank you so much for the review, but especially thank you for all of the marvelous suggestions you've given me for this story. This chapter mainly came from your ideas, so thank you very very much! **

**Brytte Mystere: A new face! So nice to hear a review from someone new! I agree with you: Calypso is so sweet to him, even when she didn't have to be after he left her. Too bad she cursed Annabeth though... As for Nico, I'm not quite sure. I'll just have to see how it works out. Thank you for reviewing!**

**BrittanyLP: Hi! Oh, I LOVE hearing from you! (Is there any chance you could get an account so we could PM?) I love shout-outs too. It's nice to be recognized for reviewing, isn't it? I'm glad you liked the chapter so much. I know it was kinda far-fetched, but thank you for liking the whole Bianca = Julia idea. I thought it would just be a nice plot twist. And good choices for characters. (I would count them as minor characters, maybe not Chiron but definitely Sally.) Sally is so sweet and Chiron is very cool/ wise, he's kinda like a dad to a lot of the campers.**

**RoboMonkey101: (I think I already PMed you about your review but I'll thank you again.) I'm glad you were surprised by the twist with Julia/ Bianca, even if it was a bit far-fetched. I'm happy you were pleased with the scene I chose. Her death scene seemed the most poignant and emotional, although it was kinda hard to choose which scene with her to do. Love your character choices for the Q: Clarisse and Mr. D are both awesome! Thanks for your review!**

**Jennn: Hmm, new reviewer. Hi. Well, your review was definitely the harshest one I've ever received, although that could be taken in a good or bad way. I'll choose to take it in a positive way though. You make a good point, and because of that, I will take that off of my summary. You're right; whether or not it's your first time truly shouldn't affect how good your story is. I respect you for being so blunt, and for showing that you care by giving constructive criticism. But here's the thing (I'm not upset with you or anything, I promise): You said "****it's like all the females in PJO universe who have ever come in contact with Percy are just shy of jumping him and declaring their eternal love." ****You basically just described my exact summary for this story. The title of the story is "Everyone Loves Percy." That should register that everyone in this story is going to love Percy. Also, this story is not one that has an overall plot; instead, each chapter is its own story in a different POV so that the setting is entirely different. I am sorry if you do not like it that way, but this story is not supposed to seem realistic or reasonable. However, I do see what you're saying, and with the help of Lucian Naruto, I am taking a different approach on the chapters to follow so that each one will be a different ****_kind _****of love. This chapter, for instance, is respect. So they won't be so much blatant love anymore, but more of a theme or angle. Anyway, thank you for your very detailed, in-depth review. I actually really enjoyed it. Please review again, and I hope you liked this chapter better!**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, followed, and voted on the poll on my profile. For those who have not, please follow their example and do so! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think with a review. Here's the Q:**

**Who is your favorite Greek god and goddess, and why?**

**That's all! Have a wonderful week!**

**~Princess Andromeda II**


	9. Athena

**Helloooooo people! First off, I have also updated for Chapter 10, which is a surprise chapter! Yay! Also, don't forget to review and vote on my poll on my profile please. Special thanks to Lucian Naruto for this chapter. Shout-outs for the reviews from last chapter are at the bottom, where you should REVIEW! That's all for now! Enjoy Chapter 9 of "Everyone Loves Percy"!**

**Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I wasn't Rick Riordan. Course, I haven't checked in a while...**

**(text from: the Last Olympian, chapter 20)**

* * *

**Athena**

She had some major issues in her life.

As proud as she was, Athena was wise enough to admit that much. Many of them weren't even her fault. But nonetheless, the fact that there were problems in her life didn't change because they were simply "not her fault." Even now, as she leisurely flipped through her daughter's book of sketches, she had no trouble coming up with a list of such problems.

Well, the first issue would be the fact that she was rifling through her daughter's belongings without her permission. As much as it would hurt and shock Annabeth if she found out, Athena's curiosity won out in this situation. She just _had _to know what her daughter thought about the famous Percy Jackson.

Which, speaking of, was another one of the many conflicts she was facing at the time. The son of Poseidon. He was a huge thorn in her side, in more ways than one. True, he'd saved the world numerous times, and certainly helped her and the other gods a hundred times over, yet there were other things about him that were mighty inconvenient for the goddess of war.

Grumbling to herself as she put the sketchbook back on Annabeth's desk, Athena strolled over to the trunk at the foot of her daughter's bed and opened the lid with a creak. After sifting through a few random tests that were likely left over from the school year, the goddess found something that might actually be considered an item of interest: Annabeth's diary. With a trembling hand (she couldn't help it: she was nervous), Athena drew it out of the trunk and closed the lid tentatively.

It was a simple leather-bound book, small and light when she weighed it in her hand. When she opened it up, she immediately caught a whiff of that smell she loved, a smell that could only be found in books that had been loved and well-worn with age. It was a scent that carried the magic of the ages with it, of yellowed pages and faded ink. She knew many of her children shared her love of books, but Annabeth was certainly the most passionate about them in addition to architecture.

Athena loved all of her children, no one could deny that claim, but she certainly held a fondness in her heart for Annabeth that exceeded the rest. She wasn't usually big on favoritism. In her mind, everyone should be treated as equals, and no mother should ever love any of her children more than another, no matter what. But Athena had long ago come to terms with the fact that she seemed to care more in her heart for the daughter she shared with Frederick Chase.

The girl's father was one reason. He had been so unlike the usual mortal men she'd met that were crafty and sneaky, always trying to take advantage of her. But Frederick had loved her merely on an intellectual base. And for that, she had loved him back with the same intelligence and affection. Their marriage and conceivement of Annabeth had been more of a joining of minds and brains, rather than two people coming together that loved each other. But Athena didn't mind that. In fact, she'd left Frederick after Annabeth had been born, both for fear of hurting him and for the sake of Annabeth. The man's brain, as strong and intelligent as it was, might overload with the idea of spending the rest of his life with a goddess. Even the most fair-minded of men might be subject to the occasional whims of the opposite sex, a fact that Athena could not blame the poor man for. So she left him out of mercy, knowing that it was the best and wisest choice.

Yet whenever she saw Annabeth now, there was always a bit of Frederick in the girl that the goddess cherished and held on to. Some of that insightful thinking and intelligent mind that she could claim as her own through her daughter. She even saw some of her ex-lover in Annabeth's handwriting, which marked the pages that Athena now flipped through. True, there was differentiation in the techniques, but she could still trace some of the similarities between the scribbles that were scrawled over the yellowed paper in the diary.

Athena was deep into the reading, having just gotten to a juicy tidbit in her daughter's journal. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a voice was shouting at how wrong it was for a mother to invade her daughter's privacy like this. But the voice just made Athena giggle, for she couldn't help but think of how her own mother had once actually been a voice in the back of her father's head, back when Metis had been trapped in her father as a fly.

To prevent herself from taking a tragic trip down Memory Lane, Athena once again immersed herself in absorbing as much of the diary as she could before someone could come back into the Athena cabin.

A name that she passed over while reading made her stop and do a double-take: Percy Jackson. She quickly read back over the neat, cursive writing and tried to process the words that her eyes were seeing. "...love of my life..." and "perfect for me..." and "...together forever" and "...dream guy" Athena had trouble comprehending what this meant. Over and over again, she spotted phrases that expressed just exactly how Annabeth felt about the son of Poseidon.

The goddess, dreading what she had been fearing all along, turned the page and gasped. There was an entire page, back to back, that was filled with sketches, drawings, and doodles featuring everything from hearts with arrows piercing them to stick figures with a family of people that were easy for Athena to guess the identity of. Her hand shook as she turned the page, and she was beyond shocked by what she saw. The name Percy appeared everywhere in the diary.

Athena immediately disapproved of what she saw. For one thing, he was too good. He seemed too fake, too perfect. Like he shouldn't exist. There had been tons and tons of Greek heroes over the years, all exactly like Percy Jackson. And yet... in some ways, they were so unlike him that she was sometimes astounded that he could even be counted as a tally mark in the plethora of heroes that had come before him.

Why, the boy had turned down _immortality _for the gods' sake (and her own)! No hero, mortal or demigod, had ever refused such an offer. The idea of it was unfathomable! Why would anybody not want to live forever? And at such a ripe age too! Percy Jackson was at the perfect age in his lifetime to be frozen forever: extremely fit, very healthy, exceedingly powerful, fairly strong, and with enough knowledge and experience under his belt to last a long time, not even considering the fact that he had an infinite amount of years left to gain even more experience. And with the amount of power that the son of Poseidon possessed, he would have been one of the most powerful gods yet, that much she could tell. There was no doubt in her mind that he was the most powerful demigod in this day and age, possibly one of the best ever. _So_, she asked herself again for what seemed like the hundredth time, _why didn't Percy Jackson choose to accept the gods' offer of immortality?_

One look at her daughter's journal was all the confirmation Athena needed to know why. The hearts and doodles were obvious reminders of a fact that Athena had been trying for years to ignore, even prevent when she had the chance.

Annabeth was in love with Percy Jackson.

The shear magnitude of the situation and all that it encompassed made Athena's head feel light. Her daughter, _her _daughter, little Annabeth, was in love. With Percy Jackson.

This was so _unfair. _Even if she tried, the goddess could not think of a more inconvenient situation- for herself, at least. Nothing about this seemed like a good thing. Most mothers would be delighted at the thought of her daughter finding a good boy like Percy to take care of her, but not Athena. This was not good. This was _soooo _not good.

Here she was, a powerful goddess who, when she so desired, could have any man that she wanted. She was aware of her attractive good looks and stunning beauty, and knew that her brain and powers were enough to draw many men in. Yet there was one boy that she could not have, and that was Percy Jackson. All because her daughter, whom she loved very very dearly, fell in love with him first, and in turn received his affection of equal enormity.

It was the perfect example of a YA novel love triangle, like one of the rare examples that could be found in Annabeth's secret collection of such books. Except the situation was slightly more complicated and odd than normal, since one of the three involved was another's mother. And Aphrodite would have found it hilariously entertaining. Athena could practically hear the love goddess's taunting voice in the back of her head, and she resisted the urge to form a plan to humiliate the goddess somehow.

Too many thoughts were racing around Athena's mind, and it was enough to give her a splitting headache. _With my luck, _she thought, _I'll be like Zeus and give birth to a child through my forehead. _She tried to force her thoughts to settle, but she had no such luck. Her heart began to speed up as well, beating faster and faster in her chest. _I'm a powerful goddess, _she said to herself, scolding herself for being so silly and acting so ridiculous. _A little headache and heart troubles never bothered me. _

But she thought of her daughter marrying the son of Poseidon one day, buying a home with him, raising a family with him, growing old with him. And then Athena, being the ultimately honest goddess that she was, would come along and visit her daughter on her deathbed, and tell her how she had felt something for the son of the sea god at one time too, and her daughter's eyes would grow wide, and her pulse would speed up, and Athena's fragile daughter would die from the shock of knowing that her mother had had feelings for the love of her life. And it would be Athena's fault.

The thought of such a thing happening, as silly and ridiculous of a scenario as it was, was enough to speed up Athena's heart until she felt like the feet of the entire Trojan army was racing inside of it, round and round so she could practically feel the hammering of the heavy beat. The steady stampede only grew stronger, like the buildup of an adrenaline rush, and Athena attempted a standing position.

She needed to breathe, she needed to be out of this building, to get outside and catch a whiff of fresh air, for right now she could barely register the flow of air to her heart and her head. The diary was still in her hand, so she tried to toss it back onto the bed but couldn't make herself do it. She stumbled to the door and was twenty feet from it when it flew open in a wide arc, letting a cascade of beaming light come in. The shock of being caught red-handed in her wrongdoing was such a shock to her excited heart that she keeled over backwards, the journal still clasped firmly in hand. The last thing she saw before she passed out was a dim outline in the door frame, a shadow of a hybrid between a horse and a man...

_Athena was back in the throne room on Olympus. __**What am I doing here? **__she wondered. Even though she had passed out, she hadn't quite lost consciousness, but just lost control of her body momentarily. It was one of the perks of being a goddess, you could say._

_Athena's subconscious form stood in the throne room, surrounded by the twelve Olympian gods (including herself), plus a few demigods, a satyr, and a monster. Everything around her was in full color, and as she glanced down, she saw that her body appeared in a faded black and white hue. Judging by the fact that she was shaded differently by the others present, the others in the room were ignoring her, and she could see another form of herself across the room in regal throne, she knew she was in a flashback, a form of a vision for immortals. Flashbacks were only visions from the past, anyway._

_Athena turned her attention back to the situation at hand at the sound of Poseidon's strong, bellowing voice. "PERCY JACKSON!" The name reverberated around the room. Athena shivered. Judging by the disdainful look on Past Athena's face and the demigods present at the time, Future Athena had no trouble placing what memory this was._

_Percy approached his father, and Athena was immediately reminded of why being with Percy was such a bad idea. There was feud between Poseidon and Athena that was centuries old, and as a result, that same competitive nature was passed on between their children. It would be degrading to be seen with him, no matter his strength, because he would show that was weak because of a man, and had collapsed through the grudge that had been going on for years. She would not be weak, that she was sure of. Yet how was it possible for Annabeth to love Percy then, with such a feud existing? It made no sense, so the goddess turned her attention back to the memory, and watched the scene unfold, just as she had a little over a year ago._

"_Rise, my son," said Poseidon after Percy had knelt at his feet respectfully. "A great hero must be rewarded. Is there anyone here who denies that my son is deserving?" Nobody made a sound, and Athena was tempted to hold her breath, although she knew it wouldn't make a difference._

_When no one said anything, Zeus continued, "The Council agrees. Percy Jackson, you will have one gift from the gods."_

_Percy, unsuspecting of what was to come, asked, "Any gift?" to which Zeus nodded._

"_I know what you will ask. The greatest gift of all. Yes, if you want it, it shall be gods have not bestowed this gift on a mortal hero in many centuries, but, Perseus Jackson-" Athena flinched at the use of his full name, mirrored by Percy in the vision, "if you wish it-" She tensed, "you shall be made a god." She let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "Immortal. Undying. You shall serve as your father's lieutenant for all time."_

_Athena watched Percy's face transform. His initial expression of shock and stun morphed into one of confusion. He said, incredulously, "Um... a god?"_

"_A dimwitted god," Zeus said sarcastically. "But yes. With the consensus of the entire Council, I can make you immortal. Then I will have to put up with you forever."_

_Ares added smugly, "Hmm. That means I can smash him to a pulp as often as I want, and he'll just keep coming back for more. I like this idea."_

_To her shock, Future Athena heard her past self saying, "I approve as well." She followed the gaze of her other form to Annabeth, who looked stricken._

_Athena was surprised by the shocked look on her daughter's face. She hadn't really paid attention to her daughter's reaction at the time. In truth, she had mainly supported the boy's immortality at the time for her own selfish purpose: to keep him for herself, and, although she hated to admit it now, to keep him away from Annabeth. She watched the version of herself that sat on the cold, hard throne, and studied her daughter from across the room to see how much of an interest she had in the son of Poseidon, not caring how her daughter felt about the situation. _

_Now she wished she had. _

_For as she vigilantly watched the look that passed between Percy and Annabeth when he turned to look at her, she knew now that there was nothing she could do to prevent the love that flourished between them, nor should she. Their love was meant to be, and it would be a "moral wrong," as one of her children, Abraham Lincoln, had once said. Who was she to step in between that love, and try to take it away from either of them? Percy Jackson was everything that Athena sought in a man: strength, courage, battle skills, loyalty. He was a warrior, which was what she looked for. But he was a true hero who had been through so much, and he deserved all the happiness in the world. And Annabeth Chase was her daughter, her dear daughter that she loved with all her heart. _

_Having come to terms with that, Athena sighed peacefully and inhaled a deep breath. She had already begun to slip away from the flashback and return to her conscious body when she heard the word she knew Percy Jackson would speak, a word that made all the difference in the world to her and Annabeth._

"_No."_

Athena was awaken by a gentle shaking on her shoulder, and the calling of a voice she recognized.

"Athena, my lady. Please, wake up."

She opened her eyes.

"Ah." The voice said, sighing with relief. "You're awake, my lady. Are you alright?"

"Yes, Chiron," she said, sitting up to face the old centaur. "I am fine."

He looked doubtful, but he moved on anyway. "I have just received wonderful news, and I thought you should be the first to know before the campers come back from the games."

"Oh?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "What has happened?"

The centaur nodded enthusiastically. "Word from Rome has just arrived; your daughter and the other members of the quest have retrieved the Athena Parthenos! Isn't that wonderful?"

"Yes," she said, smiling faintly. "It's wonderful."

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**Thanks lovely people for reading, hopefully you enjoyed! Here are the shout-outs from last chapter:**

**Lucian Naruto: Thank you SO much, as always, for your constant help and support! You've given me so many ideas, and your reviews always make me smile. I already did a chapter on Annabeth (sorry). Anyway, thanks again!**

**kingpariah: HI! Awesome and really long review, as always! I'm glad you liked the whole Artemis/ Apollo interaction. I thought it was kinda nice. You're right about the Nico and Bianca thing. I'll change that at some point. And thanks for answering the Q; I like your choices!**

**rachelmarie224: I already did Reyna, but thanks for the review anyway.**

**Brytte Mystere: Hope I spelled that right. Anyway, I like Poseidon and Hades too! They're awesome. Glad you liked the chapter. And I might do Nico at some point, I just don't like requests is all. Thanks for the review!**

**The 6th Spectral King: Glad you liked the Apollo/Artemis stuff. I like Poseidon, but Khione? hmm...**

**SamTheKingofHell: OMG your review made me laugh SO hard! LOL. Please review again!**

**Mister Tea Time: sorry you cried, but that's freakin hilarious.**

**Brittany Jackson: Well I'm glad you liked the chapter. All those gods are super bad***, so nice choices. Glad we're friends!**

**Thanks again to those people. Here is the Q:**

**What is your favorite book from Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and why?**

**Love to everyone who read this chapter! Thank you again!**

**~Princess Andromeda II**


	10. Sadie

**Hey everyone! SURPRISE! You get a two-for-one deal, since I'm giving you TWO chapters today! YAY! The reason is that I'm going out of town next week, and I won't be back before next Tuesday (ignore what I just said; I'm back now) so I wanted to go ahead and give you that chapter. Also, I wanted to give you this chapter because today is the 3-week anniversary of the release of "the Crown of Ptolemy." Yep, that means that in honor of Chapter 10 of this story, I did a CROSSOVER POV with Sadie Kane! In case you don't recognize her name from the Kane Chronicles, please go read that series right now, because it is amazing. Also, if you haven't read any of the books in Rick Riordan's trilogy of PJO/KC crossover books, please go read them right now. Lastly, since I'm back now (ignore that stuff at the top), the shout-outs from Chapter 8 are now at the bottom.**** Um...that's it I guess! Please enjoy the extra-special crossover Chapter 10 of "Everyone Loves Percy!"**

**Disclaimer: I wish I was Rick Riordan. Oh, how I wish I was Rick Riordan. But then I wouldn't be writing this, so never mind.**

**(text from: the Crown of Ptolemy)**

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**Sadie**

Sadie thought she knew what cute guys looked like.

Up until that point, she'd fallen for exactly two guys, and both seemed to like her back.

First there was Anubis: the Egyptian god of death and funerals. He was more of the silent type, dark and brooding and mysterious. His jet black hair and dark brown eyes made Sadie's heart race, beating faster and faster against her will each time she laid eyes on him. She liked it.

Then there was Walt Stone. Poor, sweet Walt, who warmed her heart to the core and made her feel special for who she was. Walt, who was doomed to die by the ancient curse that hung over his family's head. He, like Anubis, also had black hair and dark eyes, but his skin was a nice chocolate color, in contrast to Anubis's milky white skin tone.

Both Anubis and Walt would have made wonderful boyfriends separately, and in the back of her mind, Sadie was always followed by the lingering question of who she would choose when she would be forced to make a decision one day. So that's why Sadie was almost relieved when Anubis had nobly volunteered to inhibit Walt to save his life, making the latter the Eye of Anubis. Basically, in the end, Sadie wound up with a guy that was a combination of two boys she had huge crushes on. Why, she was prepping for a date with him/ them right now! How could she be so lucky?! She got the perfect two-for-one deal! Not many girls had that luxury of not having to choose. She didn't even have to choose between the two great guys, and at the end of the day she still wound up with both of them. All in one package. The boy of her dreams.

Or so she thought.

Sadie Kane had recently discovered that Anubis, Walt, or whatever you want to call the hybrid version of the two guys, was _nothing _compared to Percy Jackson.

Something about the guy just sent Sadie over the edge. As she tugged on the light lavender dress that sat, cleanly pressed, on her bed, she pondered what it was that made her feel that way. It wasn't just his fabulous good looks, although the smoldering green eyes and messy black hair certainly didn't hurt. It wasn't only because of his amazing muscles, which she had spent several days ogling and drooling over when she'd conjured up a slightly-altered memory in her head. And it also wasn't just because of his scary-good fighting skills and awesome powers. No, Sadie wasn't a stereotypical dumb blonde like that, since she mainly felt drawn to him because of their common sense of fun, and the way their minds worked. Although initially she'd been attracted to Walt and Anubis because of their charming looks, when it came down to it, Sadie always liked a guy based on _him, _his inner self and his personage. Basically, the stuff that mattered.

She had heard plenty of things from others about him, namely her annoying older brother Carter and her new-found friend Annabeth Chase. Both knew Percy Jackson before Sadie did, and she couldn't help being jealous because of that, as silly and childish of a notion as it was.

As she slipped on a pair of simple black flats that she retrieved from the mess that was her closet, Sadie recalled the day that she had come home and her brother had bragged about fighting and defeating the monster that had been terrorizing Brooklyn. Although Carter had actually fought the crocodile, he didn't tell her that he'd needed the assistance of a certain demigod named Percy Jackson, and he hadn't told her a thing about it until after she'd met Annabeth. She remembered as she sat down at her vanity and began to do her hair that she had fought another cook named Serapis with Annabeth about a month ago, and she had found out from the other girl that Annabeth was Percy's girlfriend, which, incidentally, was how Annabeth knew Percy. When they'd made the connection that Annabeth's boyfriend had fought the crocodile Serapis with Sadie's brother, she had stormed home, outraged that her brother had taken all the credit and didn't tell her about the discovery that Greek gods existed too, in addition to the Egyptian gods that they had once needed to deal with on a daily basis. It was all slightly confusing, and the information rattled around Sadie's brain as she twirled her long blonde hair into a bun atop her head, the purple highlights matching her pale dress. (She'd changed her hair from orange to purple immediately after the battle. It was sort of a tradition with herself.)

Even now, exactly three weeks later, Sadie still couldn't stop thinking about that encounter with the two teenage demigods. In fact, she had to concentrate even to clasp the silver necklace that rested on her nightstand around her neck. She had never met anyone like Percy before, except for Annabeth, but the two girls had only met a little over a month ago. Still, she'd instantly felt a connection with each that was unexplainable. With Annabeth, Sadie had sensed someone she could trust, and someone that could easily be a great new friend. That one had worked out as she had pictured, and since then the girls texted each other as much as they could on a weekly, sometimes even daily, basis. And with Percy, she had sensed someone who thought like her, who understood her. Someone who could relate to the energy she always felt and the jittery nerves she received right before a battle. Someone who understood that sometimes it was better to act than to think. Basically, someone who _got _her.

Sadie was jolted out of her wistful thoughts as she heard a light knock at her door. She turned around on the vanity seat with a sporadic twist, and accidentally knocked the bottle of perfume resting on the counter into the trash bin. Her brother's light smile and "Hey sis" was greeted with an inundation of curse words as Sadie tried to save what she could of the perfume bottle that was now nearly empty. Seeing her trouble, Carter frowned.

"Should I come back later?" he asked uncertainly. Sadie sighed and shook her head, waving her hand to indicate everything was fine.

"No, no, it's fine. Come on in, big bro." She smiled at him easily to assure him it was alright, and he stepped inside with a hesitant smile.

"Whatcha been doin'?" he asked her as he glanced around her room. She didn't know why. He'd been in here hundreds of times before, so it wasn't like there was anything new in here.

"Oh, I'm just getting ready for my _date,_" she said, squealing like a little girl on the last word. She couldn't help it; she was excited. Who wouldn't be? She was going to a fancy restaurant with a really cute guy, who was actually two really cute guys forced to share the same body. Make sense? Yeah, it didn't to most people either. Even Sadie got confused sometimes.

Carter looked at her with an odd expression on his face. "You seem oddly excited. Usually you don't seem so worked up over girly stuff like this." He shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. "I guess you're growing up. Woman stuff and all that." Sadie was oddly satisfied to see that Carter felt slightly embarrassed about this dating stuff. "Just make sure they- er, he- takes good care of you, okay? And if he tries to pull anything, just tell me, and I'll be down there so fast I'll..." He trailed off, seeing the slightly amused look on her face. "What?" He asked, bewildered. It made her realize how much her brother cared about her.

"Carter," she laughed, taking out the heart earrings she'd been wearing and replacing them with silver hoops. "I'm a big girl now, remember? I can take care of myself. And I know what I'm dealing with. Walt- Anubis, whatever- would never hurt me. I trust him- them." She smiled to assure him, though she could see that he really was concerned. She was given some satisfaction to know he was taking the big-brother stance on this situation, and it made her realize how much her brother truly cared about her.

He nodded, then placed a finger on his chin, as if trying to remember something. "I forgot what the other reason I came up here was." With a look from her, he added, "Besides coming to warn you about the dangers of mixing boys with hormones, let alone two boys, one of which has been a teenager for roughly 2,000 years now." He snapped his fingers in triumph. "I just remembered! I came to ask you if you would help me document that thing we did a few weeks ago." He answered her questioning look by saying, "You know. The run-in with the demigods, Percy and Annabeth. With the crown of Ptolemy."

Sadie gave him a dumbfounded look. "Of _course _I remember that! How could I forget? With you always rambling on about how cool Percy is-" Carter turned pink, "-and how hot Annabeth is-" he turned a shade pinker, "-it's _impossible _to forget! Plus, I talk to them all the time!" Her brother was now two or three shades darker than was probably healthy, so to ease the color of his cheeks, Sadie patted the side of her bed, and he complied by sitting down on the edge of it. "Loosen up a bit, brother dear" she said lovingly. "You look like a nutty git who's going to spring out of his pin the next chance he gets!" After he'd relaxed the tension in his shoulders, she brightened. "That's better! Now, let's get a move on. I've got a date coming to pick me up in about ten minutes. Let's make this fast, shall we?" Carter turned on the tape recorder.

"Hey," he said. "It's us again, Carter and Sadie. We're back, as you can probably tell."

Sadie rolled her eyes. "Get on with it, brother dear."

Carter glared at her. "Fine. Well, three weeks ago exactly, I woke up with this voice in my head saying, over and over again, _Carter, Carter, Carter. _It was really annoying, actually. But I remembered that a few months ago, I'd met this guy named Percy Jackson. We fought, bonded, saved the world, blah blah blah. I already did a recording of that anyway. Point is, I marked him and told him that whenever he needed my help, he just had to call my name. So, knowing he was in trouble, I woke up Sadie."

"Rather rudely too," she pointed out. "You rolled me out of bed like a sack of potatoes. I was having a lovely dream at the time." With an irritated look from Carter, she continued. "Anyway, we felt this pull to Governor's Island, so we turned into falcons and flew down there. When we arrived, we were greeted with the lovely sight of Setne cornering two kids. So naturally we dropped a camel on him. The two kids were our friends, Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson." Sadie, momentarily losing her cool demeanor, choked and stumbled over the guy's name. Carter gave her a questioning look but didn't push it, which she was grateful for. She swallowed and continued. "We dropped out of the sky in front of them and did this really cool Power Ranger stance thing, where we had out our weapons and out linen clothes were like swaying in the breeze. It was awesome." Without warning, she stopped talking for some reason, leaving her brother to save the awkwardness by picking up the rest of the story. As he continued on, all she could think about was how she felt about Percy Jackson.

Did she like him? Did she sort-of like him? Did she love him? It was all too confusing for her. So far in her life, she had never thought of herself as consciously loving someone in the romantic sense. The idea just seemed to absurd for her taste, and she wasn't comfortable with it. Unless, maybe she was already. Was it possible that she was in love with Walt? Or Anubis? Or whatever the hell you wanted to call him! How were people supposed to judge these things? Was there like a meter, or a diagram or something? Usually, Sadie just left all of the math and charts and diagrams and things to her brother. Carter was the one who liked thinking things out, using fact to explain things, and logic, and math, and numbers, and coherent thoughts. None of these things were in Sadie's mind right now. No, all she sensed inside her brain was a bunch of muddle-up thoughts that didn't make sense. She couldn't make heads or tails out of anything. This wasn't like her! Usually she was the one who was able to sense what people were feeling. Could sense their emotions and thoughts. She was the one that liked to charge into battle, fully prepared by not being prepared at all. It was what she did, and it was one of the things she'd found in common with Percy when they'd first met. Now though, she was charging into a battle that she didn't understand, fully unprepared. What was _happening _to her? This wasn't her!

Sadie began to feel queasy and sick. Her head started spinning, her heart pounding, and her skin felt wan and chilly. Goosebumps crept up her arms, and the hairs stuck up. She shivered. She felt so fragile and frail, which was also a new sensation to her.

Distantly and faintly, Sadie could hear Carter's voice as he got to the part of the story where he, Percy, Annabeth, and Sadie began their slow charge to the south end of Governor's Island. Sadie's head began spinning faster and faster, and her stomach lurched. How was he already to that part of the story?! Her heart filled with dread as she realized how long she must have been silent. She must be worse off than she thought. One long at her brother's worried face was all that Sadie needed to know that she must have looked terrible. She stared at Carter's mouth as he trailed off.

"Um...Sadie? Anything you want to add?" His words seemed practical enough, but his eyes danced with the worry that only a big brother could carry for his little sister. She _had _to be strong, even if it was only a recording. She needed to stop acting so silly and ridiculous, and just finish out the tape.

She opened her mouth to pick up the story, but all that came out was "Ugh!" before she collapsed to the floor in a heap of chilly limbs. Spots danced before her eyes, and she was finding it harder and harder to breathe. She could feel her brother's presence by her side, and she registered with disdain that at some point she had dropped her handbag on the ground. Great. It was probably under the bed, gathering a million dust bunnies a second. But the dusty purse faded out of Sadie's worries as her mind fogged over and the darkness closed in.

_Splash!_

_Splish, splash! went the water as Sadie danced around in the muddy puddles. Rain poured down around her on all sides, but she was safe from the falling sky drops because of the umbrella that covered her and her friends' heads. The constant sound of the rain was like someone's fingers drumming on a tabletop, and she found it quite peaceful and tranquil. The drops made a little plopping sound as they made contact with the ground, and Sadie watched with a gentle fascination that was unlike her own as she splashed through the storm, kicking up mud as she went._

_Up ahead, she saw her brother and Annabeth chatting away about who-knows what. Probably research or something boring like that. Sadie caught snippets of their conversation through her noisy splashing: something about Ptolemy and Greek and Egyptian magic. It was slightly bemusing to see her brother had found someone to share his nerd notes with, even if it was a girl that was about an inch taller than him._

_Next to her, Sadie could plainly see Percy staring at her. He didn't' seem to be trying to hide it, for she looked over at him every so once and a while, and the meet of their gazes never deterred him from watching. The intense stare of his gaze was so vigilant that she became nervous and jittery, and she would occasionally pull things out of her backpack, like some extra papyrus, some candy, a clothespin, some string, her wax figurines... Anything, really, to distract her from the intense gaze she was subject to. She hummed her favorite tune as the rain came down, something that was a mix between a pop song and a lullaby her mother used to sing._

_She wondered what Percy was thinking about. Surely, there had to be some sort of thought behind those startling green eyes. Carter had described Percy as not being the sharpest tool in the drawer, but somehow Sadie doubted that. True, he might not be as intelligent as her know-it-all, geeky brother, or the wise, owl-like Annabeth, but there was definitely something more to Percy that she sensed often went unnoticed. She could see that he had been through much and suffered through too many horrible experiences not to have acquired some sort of knowledge over the years, even if it was something as odd as knowing what the tip of a sword is called. _

_His cool, steady gaze was hard not to squirm under, but she knew in her heart that it wasn't a hard stare. He was looking at her as if he saw something beautiful, something wonderful. Somehow, though, she knew he wasn't looking exactly at _her, _per se. He was looking at what she was, what she could be. Maybe she reminded him of himself, with a bit of Annabeth? That seemed about right. Sadie had a bit of a sixth sense for these things, and she wasn't so stupid that she hadn't immediately drawn similarities between herself and the two demigods. Annabeth obviously contained her long blonde hair, possibly her eyes, but she knew that Percy also saw some of himself in her. Her fidgeting, her nervousness and her hyperness. True, she was like that a lot, but then it was mostly because of his staring. She was done with it for now. _

_Sadie made full eye contact with Percy, and he flinched, like he was unaware that he'd been staring. She frowned. "What?"_

"_Nothing," he said quickly, and as he turned away, he didn't see the smile on her face._

"Sadie. Sadie..." said a distant voice. "Sadie! SADIE!  
"Gah! What? What?" she cried as she sat up with a jolt, wincing as her forehead collided with a hard object. It was her brother's head. He must have been leaning over her. It sounded like something he would do, at least, and Sadie was surprisingly touched by the gesture.

"Thank the gods," he breathed, while rubbing his head that no doubt was throbbing like hers. "Are you okay? What happened? Did you bump your head?" He was fretting over her like a mother hen. Sadie was about to answer when the doorbell from downstairs bonged in a manner that sent chills up her spine. She bolted up and kissed her brother on the cheek.

"I'm fine, brother dear, but I've got to go now. I've got a D-A-T-E date! See you later!" She raced out of her room, and she could hear her brother muttering as she left him behind, saying "You're crazy, Sadie, you know that?" She jumped on the banister and slid down, leaping off when she reached the bottom. She called a final goodbye to her brother as she threw upon the door.

"Walt!" she cried joyfully. "You look smashing! You really put a lot of effort into this, didn't you?"

He smiled and shrugged humbly, looking roguish and dapper in his attire that consisted of a nice black tux and a striped lavender tie to match her dress. He looked wonderful, his face lit up in a bright smile. But his smile faded when worry lines creased his forehead and he asked, "Sadie, are you alright? You don't look well."

Sadie almost told him. She almost told him how she had been so close to admitting to herself that there was chance that she might love Percy Jackson. It seemed reasonable enough: they saw each other a lot now since they started hanging out more, and both had a lot of similar interests, and they were only a few years apart in age. Everything was set up right. So what was the problem? The problem was that he would never love her like that, and as a result she didn't think she could love him that way either. He would always love Annabeth that way, a fact that Sadie realized she had never been really jealous of. If she truly loved Percy in a romantic sense, wouldn't she be jealous of Annabeth? But she wasn't. And she somehow knew that whenever Percy saw her, he didn't really see her. When he got that look, that twinkle, in his eye, he didn't see Sadie. He saw a future with Annabeth, a symbol of what he and the love of his life could make together. Who was she to take that away from them? They needed each other. They were each other's oxygen. They deserved all the happiness in the world, and she felt that she did too. That's why she took Walt's extended arm and answered him honestly with a smile.

"I'm fine, Walt. I'm perfectly fine."

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**Hope you liked it. Watch out! Here come the shout-outs:**

**SamTheKingOfHell: OH NO! That's so sad! Well, thank you for reading this story, even as your interest in the fandom is dying. R.I.P. **

**kingpariah: Hey thanks for reviewing. :) Yeah I've never really liked her coldness either. She just seems incapable of possessing really deep emotions, so I tried to portray that as best I could. Hopefully I didn't fail to bad. :) and yeah how could she NOT approve of Percy? I mean he's...Percy. And I see that both of our favorite PJO book is Titan's Curse. Nice. Thanks for reviewing; I _always_ appreciate them!**

**Saehyun57: Um...what? I'm gonna take that as a good thing, but thanks for the "review" anyway. LOL you're funny. :)**

**Well, that's all for now, folks. Hope you enjoyed the double feature, which I probably won't be doing again. Anyway, please review, favorite, follow, vote on my poll, blah blah blah. Here's the Q: **

**What is you favorite book from the Heroes of Olympus series, and why?**

**Love you all, and thank you again!**

**~Princess Andromeda II**


	11. Hestia

**Hello, lovely people! How's your life goin'? Mine's goin' great. Except for the fact that I'm a TERRIBLE PERSON! I am SO sorry, you guys. I basically didn't update for two weeks, and I'm very sorry for that. But I'm also a busy person with a life and things to do, so I literally had NO time to update. Once again, I'm sorry. But here's another chapter for ya. Shout-outs for reviews from the last chapter, as always, are at the bottom of the page. Don't forget to review, favorite, follow, and vote on my poll! Thank you so much! Enjoy Chapter 11 of "Everyone Loves Percy"!**

**Disclaimer: I have never been Rick Riordan, nor do I plan to be.**

**(text from: the Last Olympian, chapter 17)**

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**Hestia**

It's never easy being alone.

Heck, nobody _wants _to be alone. Usually it's not a choice that you make, or if you do, you don't realize the impact your decision will eventually have on your life. In other words, the choice to be lonely is pretty stupid.

And that's exactly how Hestia felt as she watched the hustle and bustle of children around her. Dozens of demigods of all shapes, sizes, genders, and colors swarmed around her like a hive filled with busy bees. It physically hurt her sometimes to see those children, and know that she would never have one of her own. Even now, she could feel an aching in her chest where a goddesses's heart should be. It only pained her more to focus on the individual demigods themselves, although she couldn't help herself from the temptation of allowing herself such a simple pleasure as admiring their youthful faces. For a moment, she allowed herself to be absorbed into the hectic life of Camp Half-Blood around her, abuzz with the life of the campers.

A camper who had shaggy blond hair and blue eyes stood in the middle of a chaos, looking calm and out-of-place as he was donned in medical gear over simple shorts and a T-shirt. She saw a cocoa-skinned girl with dark hair, tied back in a bandana, stroll by, twirling a greasy monkey wrench while whistling and looking thoughtful. A young, pretty girl with braces and blonde hair in pigtails ran by, struggling under a stack of heavy boxes. In an inevitable collision, the eager blonde crashed into the oil-stained girl and they both ended up, sprawled onto the ground. Both girls just laughed at themselves, helping each other up, and going their separate ways with a friendly wave.

Hestia smiled at their exchange, and turned back to tending her fire. She continued to muse over how lucky the other gods were. Each one, besides Hera and Artemis, no matter who they were and what they had done, had a child. They all had that. Even the other two virgin goddesses had something closely related to being a parent. Artemis, although she appeared to be the same age as most of them, had her Hunters whom she loved equally as daughters and sisters. And Hera, that meddlesome goddess, was famous for picking certain mortals and demigods to be her heroes. Why, it hadn't even been that recently that she'd chosen her recent victims- er, champions. But never mind that.

The point was that each of the other gods and goddesses was a parent or an authority figure over someone younger than them. That special love that only a parent can give. That feeling of assurance that somewhere, there was someone who they had brought into life, had loved, if even from a distance.

Now, Hestia was not so clueless as to believe that the gods were 100% vigilant for their children. She knew that most of them only checked in on their children about once a year, if that, and that even the ones with the best parenting skills could visit their offspring no more than once a month. There were many, many important things to be done in the godly world, such as running a kingdom, saving the world from monsters multiple times, and managing affairs with mortals.

_And also being fat and lazy all day_, Hestia thought, surprising herself with the bitterness that was poured into the words. It was just that, she knew that if she had children, she would watch after and care for them as much as possible.

But in a way, she already did have children.

All of the campers here at Camp Half-Blood were her children. And she was here to watch over them every single day, even if they never saw her. Well, that wasn't exactly true. It was Hestia's own private tradition to allow each new camper to catch a glimpse of her as he or she first entered Camp Half-Blood. She always loved the surprise that lit up their innocent faces, the warm glow that overcame them as they beheld the hospitality of the hearth. The hearth was strategically placed here so that that first glimpse of the friendly flames would burn in their memories forever as a sign that their new home at camp would be a pleasant life. She doubted few campers even remembered seeing her though, as most were probably too young at the time or their minds were just too consumed with other matters, like surviving until the next day.

She _did _know of at least one camper that still remembered his first encounter with her. He had been so young, so innocent, so unassuming and wide-eyed. The delight that had lit up his face when he'd first seen her had warmed her to the core, and the memory of it still softened her heart, even now.

But he was gone now. Snatched away by her stubborn sister Hera, who insisted that she had only done be doing the right thing in thinking of the greater good of all. As true or not as her sister's claim may be, it had still deeply hurt Hestia when one of her favorite demigods had been taken away from his friends, his family, his home, and her. And now he was on the other side of the world, endangered in a place that she dared not go. It had been thousands of years since she'd been in Greece, and she knew that even she was not strong enough to venture into the wild land to save one of the few campers that she both wanted and needed to help.

Percy Jackson.

Yes, it was true. None other than Percy Jackson. But could anyone really blame her? She admired the boy for countless reasons: his unwavering bravery in the face of danger, his indestructible bond of loyalty for his friends, and, most importantly to her, his true sense of the importance in a good family and a home. His moral compass always seemed to point North, the arrow never faltering in its routine spin that tested the boundaries of life, of which direction to go when faced with a decision. For that she was grateful to him, that his sense of right and wrong and his internal courage would never waver.

Still, despite the boy's undeniable valor, she worried for him. He was far away in a very dangerous place, susceptible to the vicious whims of the earth goddess Gaea, and out of Hestia's reach so that she would not be able to assist him in any way. Basically, the past few months had been nearly torturous here at camp and on Olympus. Every day, she could only imagine the horrible things that could happen to him, and she was only able to imagine such things, since she had no means of vigil in the ancient country. Her jurisdiction as a Greek goddess didn't let her vision venture that far.

_But, _she thought with a tinge of ecstasy, _my vision _does _goes as far as my hearth. _She hurriedly turned back to her hearth, barely daring to hope that she would be able to view her child through the vision.

The hearth at Camp Half-Blood was similar in appearance to the one in the Hall of the Gods on Olympus, but not entirely the same. Whereas the one on Olympus was nothing more than a flame hovering in midair, the one at camp was slightly different, with the flame residing in a fire pit with burning coals. Glowing embers seemed to leap out of the coals and drift down to settle on the polished tile that lined the pit. With one glance, the camp's hearth may not seem to be more than an ordinary fire pit used for a campfire on a trip in the woods, but it took a closer look to discern it from the ordinary.

Vague, fuzzy images appeared in the coals, etched in the light so that the ashes and soot marked the shaded, darker parts of an image. The pictures constantly changed, switching from ordinary scenes in a warm, comforting home. A small child opening presents on his birthday. A large Southern family sitting down to a barbecue meal. A little girl brushing her older sister's hair. A poor family happily decorating their sparse, yet merry, Christmas tree. These were the moments that were the very essence of the gods' hearth, and, essentially, Hestia herself.

With a single breath, Hestia closed her eyes and let out a whisp of air that cleared away the other visions in the hearth, and wished to see the one that she was thinking of. _Show me a sign that Percy is alright, _she prayed.

With a swirl of smoke and a sudden jump of the embers, a new image began to appear out of the ashes and soot in the hearth. Hestia leaned forward and viewed the scene before her. What she saw was enough to surprise even her.

She saw herself, clothed in dark robes, huddling by a lonely fire, rocking back and forth. The flame was sad and pathetic, with no warmth at all and a glow so faint that it nearly seemed to suck out what little light and heat was left in the room. In her darkened state, the Hestia in the past barely noticed the approach of two new figures to the image. One was a girl with a wild, fiery mane of red hair, and the other was a sturdy boy with radiant green eyes and unkempt black hair.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare and Percy Jackson.

"Lady Hestia," Percy said as the two knelt beside her.

She acknowledged them with a nod of her head. "Percy Jackson." Looking around, she seemed worried and fussed, unlike her usual self. "Getting colder. Harder to keep the fire going."

"I know. The Titans are near," he agreed.

Past Hestia turned her head to the girl and studied her carefully, fixating her dark eyes on her with interest. "Hello, my dear. You've come to our hearth at last."

The girl seemed startled. "You've been expecting me?"

Past Hestia's eyes seemed to sparkle, and Hestia remembered, even before the scene unfolded that way, that she had allowed the two children before her to view warm, hospitable memories from their past, and whatever images they had seen in the fiery flame of the hearth seemed to ease the tension in the shoulders, ever so slightly. Hestia took some pleasure in the fact that her simple hearth could momentarily make young Percy forget a few of his troubles. The hearth and the home tended to do that to you.

Now that there weren't any troubles to inhibit their thoughts and prevent their thoughts from being clear, Past Hestia told the Dare girl, "To claim your place at the heart, you must let go of your distractions. It is the only way you will survive."

"I... I understand."

"Wait," Percy interjected. "What is she talking about?"

Past and Present Hestia watched with a quiet pity and slight dismay as Rachel Dare explained the situation to him, and as Percy's care-free face transformed from one of warmth and happiness to one of confusion and anxiety. His brow furrowed and his lip turned into a slight frown, turning down at the corners. When his sense of confusion was cleared away by a form of anger, tensions seemed to begin to rise, and Past Hestia tried to step into prevent them from mounting any further, lest they reach an unnecessary peak.

"Percy Jackson," she said, "Rachel has told you all she can. Her moment is coming, but your decision approaches even more rapidly. Are you prepared?"

A torrent of emotions crossed Percy's face in a matter of a few seconds. Desperation, anxiety, longing, frustration, followed by compassion, sensitivity, wonder, love, and indecision. But the most important expression that appeared on the boy's face revealed itself when he stared between Past Hestia and Pandora's jar, pondering the great force that was held inside. Hope. Hestia could tell when he had reached a decision, because she registered a sign of determination in his eyes that one attains after making a hard yet necessary choice. He held the jar close to his heart as he neared the hearth, as if the fluttering of Hope inside were like tiny wings that could somehow warm his heart where it needed comfort.

"Hestia," he said, having reached the hearth, "I give this to you as an offering."

Present Hestia's movements mirrored that of the Hestia in the past, as both goddesses curiously tilted their heads like a tail-wagging dog who is expecting a biscuit. "I am the least of the gods," Past Hestia said. "Why would you trust me with this?"

"You're the last Olympian. And the most important." Hestia's heart and Hope were twins as both seemed to flutter inside their cage.

"And why is that, Percy Jackson?"

"Because Hope survives best at the hearth. Guard it for me, and I won't be tempted to give up again."

Both of the goddesses smiled as the one in the vision accepted the offered jar from Percy's hands, the touch of it in her hands instantly warming the hearth a tidbit and making the flames dance a little brighter.

"Well done, Percy Jackson. May the gods bless you."

Past Hestia was already turning away from the images in the hearth, and she just managed to catch Percy's final words before the vision faded: "We're about to find out."

Those words stung harsher than anything Hestia could have thought. Here was this boy, who had devoted far too many years in service to saving his loved ones, like his friends and family, in addition to those who he probably didn't care about, like the gods, or know, like random mortals one might meet on the streets of New York. He had offered himself to the world as a bodyguard, always going above and beyond in what he needed to do. And yet, as much as he had done for the well-being of others- even the gods- he had never been awarded the prize of peace, which he deserved.

And now he was in Greece because of Hestia's stubborn sister and her meddlesome ways. Did the boy never get any rest? Any peace? Any calm state of mind? There was no denying that he deserved even that much.

But perhaps things were turning up for the young demigod. Chiron approached the home goddess at her hearth in the center of the courtyard, seemingly being one of the few in camp who could see her repeatedly on a day-to-day basis. And even before Chiron had opened his mouth, Hestia could sense that the old centaur brought good news.

"I bring word from Greece. News of the young demigods who are part of the prophecy of Seven." With a questioning look from Hestia, he confirmed, "Good news. I just got back from delivering the same news to one of your relatives." If he was going to tell her which relative, he gave no incentive. "Apparently, the demigods have found the Athena Parthenos! A few of them are scheduled to bring the statue back here. They should be here in a matter of days."

As a hot air of happiness permeated her heart, Hestia felt like rejoicing. Percy was alright. He was safe. He had completed part of his mission. She was so happy for him, and she knew why. He was the camper that had found a special place in her heart, and wedged a permanent home there. It certainly looked like her child wouldn't be going anywhere. But Hestia's joy was short-lived, and the bubble of warmth that had started to spread quickly dissipated into a cold hand that hovered over her heart. Her smile faded.

"You said only a few were coming back? Who is staying behind, and why?"

The attempted smile that had been on Chiron's face turned into a frown, and he paled. "There is also some bad news." Hestia braced herself. "Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase have...have..." He blinked rapidly and cleared his throat. "They've fallen into Tartarus," he managed.

Hestia felt the icy hand practically squeeze her heart until it burst. _No. _This could _not _be happening. It wasn't right. It wasn't _fair. _Percy Jackson deserved none of this, and she wanted none of it for him. He was special to her, and she had nothing but the utmost admiration and respect for him. When would things be made right?

Would her child ever be safe?

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**Thanks everyone for reading! You want shout-outs? You got shout-outs:**

**kingpariah: Thanks for the long review (as always.) You definitely need to read the Crown of Ptolemy! It's awesome, especially if you like both series a lot. But yes, I love HoH too! Percy/Annabeth chapters are great, and Jason, Piper, and Leo definitely get a lot better. I love seeing Percy and Annabeth's trek thrrough Tartarus, encountering a whole bunch of interesting monsters and new friends. But then they...yeah I'm not gonna talk about Damasen or I'll cry. thanks for the review (you always give awesome ones!)**

**Plain-Is-Prettiest: Oh my gods you are so sweet! Seriously, it's rare that I get a review that's just so complimentary and sincerely nice. Thank you so much!**

**Brittany Jackson: MoA is my favorite book in HoO too! If you review for this chapter and you've read the Crown of Ptolemy, tell me how you liked it, okay? Thanks for the review, you're amazing!**

**The 6th Spectral King: Aww, you thought it was awkward? :( Sad face, man. But yeah there was so much tension after HoH with Nico and stuff that it was just kinda...anxious. Your reviews are weirdly awesome.**

**Guest #1: (Thanks for reviewing for both chapters, BTW). Yeah, I thought about the whole rivalry thing, but I just decided to go ahead and do it. My job is to make these unlikely couples as likely as possible, but if it doesn't seem like it would work out then that's fine. :) And Sadie and Percy know each other from the Crown of Ptolemy, which is the third and final book in a short story crossover series between PJO and the Kane Chronicles. If you haven't read that trilogy, GO READ IT NOW!**

**Jennn: Nice to see you back again. :) I actually really like your reviews because they're so thought-out and constructive, and if you don't like something, then you actually give me a way to fix it instead of saying, "That was stupid, don't do it like that." So thank you for your constructiveness. That being said, I'm glad you like how each chapter has a sort of angle, or theme, in the way that Percy is loved. It makes it more realistic that way I guess. If you ever have any suggestions or requests, please just say so and I'd be glad to give it a shot! Also, MoA is my favorite HoO book too, so I approve! Thanks for your ****_constructive _****review!**

**Night: Waltanubis. I like it. Glad you like the stories, and thanks for reviewing!**

**tatortot267: Yay, thank you! I'm really glad you liked this chapter. It was fun writing, and Sadie's POV was so much fun to do. And MoA is my favorite form HoO too, so wise choice. Please review again, because I really look forward to your reviews!**

**Guest #2: Patience, my friend. We will get there eventually, don't worry. But thanks for the idea...R&amp;R again please!**

**So...that's it for the shout-outs, I guess. Shout-outs from Ch. 8 have been added to Ch. 9, so yeah. Please review, favorite, follow, vote on my poll, blah blah blah. And if you leave a review, here is the Q:**

**Who is your least favorite member of the Seven, and why?**

**Thanks again everyone. Love to all!**

**~Princess Andromeda II**


	12. Hera

**Good morning/ afternoon/ evening/ night, depending on where you are. Yay, another chapter! As usual, shout-outs are down at the bottom for last chapter. Also, I wanted to say two things really quickly. First of all, I am currently at 96 reviews, and it would really mean so much to me if we could get to 100 reviews soon! I'm serious, I think I might start crying if that happened. So please make me cry! Also, I forgot what I was going to say, so never mind, it was just that one thing. This chapter, as you can see, is Hera's POV. Please do not hate on me for how I wrote her POV. It may not be accurate, but it's my story. Anyway, enjoy Chapter 12 of "Everyone Loves Percy."**

**Disclaimer: I actually am Rick Riordan, but nobody believes me because the Mist is manipulating me to look like a small white 14-year old girl. **

**(text from: the Son of Neptune, chapter 1)**

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**Hera**

Marriage is supposed to be wonderful.

At least, that's what happy, normal mortals say. But for gods and goddesses, it's a completely different story. A marriage between two such powerful beings is not that fun. There's rarely any romantic feeling in the relationship, and it's more of an agreement between two powerful people who will only become more powerful when they work together. But there's hardly any love involved at all.

Basically, being married to a god was not all it was cracked up to be.

Why, Hera could have told you that better than anyone else. Here she was, centuries- no, millennia old, and yet she could only remember one day that she had ever been happy with her marriage, and that had been on her wedding day. (Although, technically, the celebration for the ceremony that night had lasted 300 years, but who's counting?) She'd been a young and naive goddess back then, none the wiser about such things, but now she knew from experience what a jerk her husband could be.

Zeus never did anything nice for her: no flowers, no chocolates, no cards, nothing. He hadn't even remembered that today was their 3,000 year wedding anniversary.

So, naturally, she was mad at him.

_When I find my worthless husband, I'm going to wring his neck so tight it'll be another millennia before he recovers!, _she stormed, skulking out of the throne room and to her door slammed with a tremendous bang, and she flinched at the noise. Suddenly overwhelmed with a torrent of emotions, she threw herself onto her bed, not even bothering to turn the lights on, and burst into tears. Each little drop slid slowly down her cheek and landed with a plop on the peacock feathers on her comforter, which was woven entirely of the material. In fact, her entire room was a shrine dedicated to her sacred animal, which might disturb anyone else but the goddess.

Her shoulders shook with the effort of willing herself not to cry, but the desire was too strong, and she was too overcome with emotions to care. Why should she? Nobody liked her. Not her fellow gods and goddesses, who always seemed to side against her in Olympian debates. Not her sons, Ares, who was too self-absorbed to care about his mother, and Hephaestus, who was such a disappointment as a child that she'd thrown him off of Olympus when he was young, a grudge against which he'd held for eons for some reason. Not her Greek and Roman heroes, all of whom she'd given proper training to to ensure that they would succeed in the missions that she so gracefully gave them. And _definitely _not her husband Zeus, who seemed to despise her so much that he wouldn't even sleep in the same room as her. So, it was undeniable she was alone. Nobody understood her, and what she stood for. Nobody loved her.

"You're right, of course."

Hera jumped at the sound. "Who's there?" she cried in a shaky voice. It was dark in the room since she hadn't turned on the lights, so she couldn't see much further than the foot of the bed. Someone was in her room, and she wasn't okay with that. "Show yourself!" She was surprised and angry at how weak she sounded, how wobbly her voice was, her throat still tight from the rare stream of tears she'd shed.

"It isn't a maintenance tunnel," the voice said.

"What?" Hera asked, confused.

"It's the entrance to camp." There, in the corner. A small hand mirror sat, perched dangerously, on the edge of Hera's enormous vanity. Standing up from the bed, her velvet robes draping elegantly on the floor, she approached the object to get a closer look. When she picked it up, it took her only a moment to recognize it. It was about the size of a plate around the circumference and the gold-plated handle was about a foot long. The entire mirror, aside from the glass part (obviously), was coated in a thick gold cover and inlaid with rubies and emeralds, Hera's favorite gems. The mirror would have been very beautuiful, but the gold was faded and dented, the handle bent, the gems chipped, and the surface scratched. It looked like a thing of the past, once very magnificent in its prime, but worn from age and mistreatment.

Still, Hera couldn't help admiring it as she held it lovingly in her hands. It was from her sister, Hestia. The first birthday present she had ever received.

Tears threatened to spill over, making her vision blurry, but Hera smeared them away so that she could watch the images on the mirror's surface. Wiping away some smudges absently on the glass, she wondered what had made the mirror turn on. Her sister had told her that its purpose was to show the user what he or she needed to see most at that moment, but why would she need to see whatever this was? Her question was answered by the hideous face that appeared on the mirror's surface.

An old woman, repulsive as a gorgon, was sitting in a bunch of bushes like a homeless person. She looked like a hippie who'd been kicked to the side of a road, where she'd been collecting trash and rags ever since. She wore a dress made of tie-dyed cloth, ripped-up quilts, and plastic grocery bags. Her frizzy mop of hair was gray-brown, like root-beer foam, tied back with a peace-sign headband. Warts and moles covered her face, and when she smiled, she showed exactly three teeth.

Hera was disgusted to herself in that form.

The ugly Hera raised her eyebrows in a warning, saying, "Not much time, child. You need to make your choice." _What choice? _she wondered. _What child- oh gods. _She recognized the person that the second Hera was talking to.

The boy, although he seemed a bit old too be a boy, was maybe 16 years old. He seemed fairly fit and muscular, toned and healthy. He carried a bronze sword in his hand- Celestial bronze, no doubt, which identified him as a demigod. His face was tan, and although it had an expression of confusion and horror plastered on it at the moment, there were definite signs of laugh lines around the eyes. The demigod had a tangled mess of hair atop his head, and he had the most stunning green eyes, ones that matched a similar pair she'd seen on only one other person in her life. In other words, the boy was the spitting image of his father, the god of the sea, Poseidon. Which meant that this boy was none other than:

Percy Jackson.

"Who are you?" he asked of Hobo Hera uncertainly. The doubt on his face was clear.

"Oh, you can call me June," Hobo Hera said with mirth. Hera rolled her eyes at her old self. _Really? _she thought. _You can't do any better than June? _She rolled her eyes again as the old woman said, "It _is _June, isn't it? They named the month after me!"

"Okay...Look," the son of Poseidon said, with remarkable patience, she might add. "I should go. Two gorgons are coming. I don't want them to hurt you."

Hera's heart swelled at that. What a compassionate and kind boy! The world needed more of those. Boys who were willing to help anyone, protect anyone. Even a perfect stranger like the horrible hag she appeared to be.

"How sweet!" she remarked, mirroring the sentiments of her counterpart. "But that's part of your choice."

"My choice..." he trailed off, looking behind him nervously. Hera could see the two gorgons he had mentioned coming closer and closer. Hobo Hera didn't seem to notice, or care, she couldn't tell which.

"Yes, a choice," she said breezily. "You could leave me here at the mercy of the gorgons and go to the ocean." _But you won't, _she thought. "You'd make it there safely, I guarantee. The gorgons will be quite happy to attack me and let you go." _Yeah, until I blast them to smithereens, _she thought to herself, smiling alone in her dim room. "In the sea, no monster would bother you. You could begin a new life, live to a ripe old age, and escape a great deal of pain and misery that is in your future."

Hera felt a sudden stab of guilt. All of that pain and misery she'd threatened would happen? It all did. Who caused it? She did. From the moment that the son of Poseidon went to sleep one night, a few days after his sixteenth birthday, his life had been nothing but a never-ending nightmare, a chain reaction of changes that had only brought trouble. A domino effect that seemed to only get worse, hurting more people each moment, and only wrecking Percy's life even more.

First she'd erased his memories, so that he wouldn't remember anything from his past life. Then she'd plucked him out of his life, right when things were looking up for him, and put him to sleep for eight months. Then she'd dumped him at an old abandoned mansion, left only to the mercy of a scary pack of wolves. Then she'd watch him struggle to reach Camp Jupiter, constantly attacked day and night by monsters that he couldn't kill. In the end, she was a terrible person. And she hated herself for it.

But she watched with slight fascination as Percy didn't immediately choose that choice, and leave Hobo Hera at the hands of the not-so-merciful gorgons. Instead, he asked, "Or?"

"Or you could do a good deed for an old lady. Carry me to the camp with you," she wheezed. A look of incredulity and disgust appeared on the son of Poseidon's face as the old hag wiggled her purple swollen feet suggestively, an expression that may have been laughable under other conditions.

"Carry you?" he asked in disbelief.

"I can't get there by myself. Carry me to the camp- across the highway, through the tunnel, across the river."

"And I'd carry you to this camp because-?" _Because you're the most loyal person I've ever met, _Hera thought. A small smile appeared on her face and gradually spread until she was grinning like a maniac. She rubbed the mirror's surface so that the vision from the past would disappear, and set the mirror face-down on the table. She'd seen all she needed to see. She knew what had made the mirror turn on: her tears. The mirror, given to her by her wonderfully sweet sister, had somehow known that she needed to see this. To see that there is hope for loyalty, for trust that someone will always be with you. Percy Jackson was the perfect example of that.

Never, in all of Hera's years, had she met someone that was more fiercely loyal than the son of Poseidon. He was willing to drop everything at a moment's notice to defend someone. Whether that someone was a strange homeless lady he'd met only that day or his girlfriend that he'd grown closer and closer to each year that he'd been a demigod. He would defend a random pack of mortals that would never know he had saved their lives because of the Mist, and an old man that was so fragile he could die the next day. He would protect the kids his age who had bullied him for years when he was younger, and the lazy gods and stubborn goddesses who, no matter how many times he saved their butts, would only expect more and more of him each time.

Loyalty. It was his fatal flaw. But he wore it like a badge of honor that had gotten him through tough times. In a way, there was something wonderful about it: using your greatest weakness as your greatest weapon. That was what made him admirable. That was what made him brave. That was what made him a hero. And, not just any hero; according to Nico di Angelo, Percy Jackson was the most powerful demigod he'd ever seen, and Hera had to agree with him. Full-heartedly.

Still smiling slightly to herself, Hera raised up out of the chair she didn't know she'd been sitting on. She turned away from the mirror, the vanity, and strode out of her room, the door shutting behind her with a firm but gentle click.

Her head was held high as she swept out of the room, her movements smooth and graceful as a peacock, her long legs gliding on the floor while her sharp heels made clicking sounds on the marbled floor. She turned the corner and stopped with surprise.

"HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!"

A hundred voices screamed out the words at her. Gods, goddesses, demigods, mortals, satyrs, nymphs, and creatures of all shapes and sizes were standing out in the Hall of the Gods. Each one had his or her face turned towards Hera, their faces lit up with joy and elation. She could only imagine what her own face looked like. Shocked, probably. In fact, she was so overcome with emotion that all she could do was stand still as a statue as the flood of guests stampeded towards her, sallying forth to hug her and congratulate her. Most thrust out their gifts that they held in their hands, offering their congratulations with either a handshake, a friendly pat on the back, or a kiss on the cheek. A few even tried to peck her on the lips, but their attempts were ignored and went unpunished since everyone was enjoying themselves so much. The stack of presents grew from a small mound to a dangerous, teetering tower. It was a bit like Jenga, she thought, as she observed a few servants trying to add gifts to the mountain without having it come crashing down on top of them. Someone, probably Apollo, turned up the music really loud, and the guests began to dance in a furious frenzy. Hera was surprised, really. Many of the guests were well over a thousand years old, and yet they somehow knew how to grind and do the Haarlem Shake. She wasn't really even sure how _she _knew what those dance moves were.

Hera was pulled out of her reveries by a large, meaty hand tapping impatiently on her shoulder. She turned in surprise to see her husband standing over her, hands on his hips and his face in a frown.

"Come with me," Zeus ordered, already turning away.

"But-" she argued.

"COME WITH ME!" he time he grabbed her arm and dragged her away. She did as she was told with an obedient and nonchalant expression on her face. How dare her husband drag her away like this? In front of all those people! This was her anniversary party too! Who did he think he was? True, he was king of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus, but he was also her husband, and marriage was a partnership, not a monarchy, or some weird relationship where one person is in charge. If this was going to work, they had to treat each other as equals.

"Zeus-" she started to say, but he cut her off with a firm kiss.

"Hera," he said, his voice rattling around the corridor they were in, bouncing off of the marble columns. He grabbed her hands gently."I love you. I don't know if I've ever actually said that to you or not. But I do. I do love you." Hera was shocked. Never, ever, had Zeus said done anything like this. "I know I can be a jerk sometimes. I treat you like dirt, and you treat me like a king. I have cheated on you with hundreds," Hera gave him a doubtful look, "okay, thousands of women before, and you have never betrayed me or been with someone else. You have been 100% honest and true to me. You are an angel, and I don't deserve your commitment. So I guess I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I really am. Look, this is our wedding anniversary." Hera looked at him in surprise. "What? You didn't think I remembered?"

"Well, you've never remembered before," she pointed out.

"But it never mattered before." Seeing her expression, he tried to backpedal. "Who do you think put this party together? Well, don't look surprised," he said when he saw her raised eyebrows. "Anyway, we've been married for 3,000 years now. 3,000 years! That's a long time, even for a god and goddess like us. So, I guess I just wanted to say, in addition to 'I love you' and 'I'm sorry', thank you. Thank you for always being by my side, for always helping me rule, and for always supporting me. It doesn't go unnoticed. So, since I am apparently terrible at making speeches and professing my love to you," he continued, clearing his throat, "I decided to show you what you mean to me. Here, I got you a little present."

He dropped her hands momentarily, pulling away to stand in front of a ginormous purple velvet curtain, possibly 40 feet tall, if not more. He placed his hand on a gold tassel that hung from the ceiling. When he tugged on it, the curtains opened grandly from either side , as they do when a play is about to start, to reveal the magnificent gift that was meant for Hera.

"Oh Zeus," she breathed. "I love it!"

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**Yay! Happy, yet unrealistic, I know. But it's F-I-C-T-I-O-N, FICTION people! So don't hate. But do tell me: what do you think he gave her? Any ideas? Let me know in a review so that we can reach that 100 mark! Aaaaaand, here are the shout-outs from last chapter. Thanks to:**

**Wade98: Yeah, I probably have to agree with you there. But LOL, blonde Harry Potter. True. Thanks for reviewing!**

**musiclover4ever: Thanks, I liked it too. The whole motherly love thing was definitely different, but sweet. Glad you liked it, and thank you for reviewing.**

**kingpariah: Hello again. I'm glad you liked the motherly love angle; it was a lot of fun to write. She's so nice and...motherly, I guess, but it's sad cuz she doesn't have any kids. Maybe all demigods and mortals are her children that way. Anyway, thanks for your amazing review, as always. I really look forward to seeing yours each chapter. :)**

**eridorvanilor01: Awesome, I'm really glad you like it. Hopefully you'll continue to like the story! I appreciate the review :) tatortot367: You have become a really great friend for me on FF, so it really means a lot to me that you like this story. I love that we read each other's stories, yours is really good, and I can't wait for you to update. But anyway, yeah Hestia is probably my favorite goddess too. She's just so sweet and you can't help but like her. And Percy's relaxed, awesome personality just kinda outweighs Jason's uptight, strict one. Funny, everyone's said Jason so far. Anyway, thank you SO much for the review!**

**Guest: Yeah, poor Hestia. And thank you for the compliment, you're sweet. :)**

**So again, please please review so we can get to 100 reviews, and forgive me for sounding so whiny. Thanks to everyone who followed/favorited me &amp; my story, voted on my poll and reviewed. Please follow their example. :) Here's the Q for this chapter:**

**Which of the Seven has the coolest demigod powers, and why?**

**Thank you all so much again, you've all been so supportive and wonderful, and it really means a lot to me. Great, now I'm crying. **

**Love to you all, and thank you! (PLEASE REVIEW!)**

**~Princess Andromeda II**


	13. Aphrodite

**Hello everyone! Glad to see that you all came back for unlucky Chapter #13. Oooh, scary! Seriously though, thank you for reading this, especially since it was two days late. Secondly, I want to say a MASSIVE thank you to AwkwardNerdyGirl. Guys, she helped me so much with this story, and she basically wrote the paragraph that starts, "Percy was breathing heavily." She's a really good writer, so go check out her story, it's really cool. Lastly, I still really want you to review, but please don't hate me for any lusty parts. I'm not very good at writing that stuff, and the few parts that are in there were extremely awkward for me. I worked so hard on this chapter for you guys, and it is the longest by far. Anyway, thank you all so much, I love you guys. ****Please enjoy Chapter 13 of "Everyone Loves Percy!"**

**Disclaimer: Yo no soy Rick Riordan.**

**(text from: the Titan's Curse, chapter 13)**

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**Aphrodite**

_Men are _such _idiots!_

That was her first thought as she stormed away from the crazy loud bar. If one were to peer inside the door of that particular bar, they wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary: a lone disco light hanging from the ceiling by a chain, strobe lights that hurt your eyes, tacky light-up beer signs hanging on the wall, the hazy smell of smoke and alcohol coming together to create an intoxicating aroma, a pounding beat with an ear-splitting bass that was referred to as "music." Cheap beer being poured into cups by a perverted bartender. A group of girls trying to coax some poor guy onto the dance floor. A dizzy, confused man stumbling towards the door, over intoxicated to the point of struggling to walk. The whole scene was pretty typical of an L.A. bar.

That is, it would appear typical to the average set of mortal eyes. But to a demigod, a mortal with the Sight, or anyone else affiliated with that type of world, then a completely different scene would appear before their eyes.

The disco light suspended by a chain would morph into a blazing sun, hovering in mid-air over the glass dance floor. The strobe lights were actually lightning bolts, cast from the king of parties himself. The beer signs were no longer tacky and neon, but were fascinating figures made of glass through which a palette of colors could be seen racing around, traveling from a clear tube to a see-through bowl-like feature. The smoke was elaborate perfume from goddesses in the crowd, the alcohol no longer cheap beer, but eccentric wines and nectar for the gods attending the party. That irritating, vibrating music had changed into a clear, yet steady, driving beat that permeated the guests of the party and got them pumped up. That bartender, although still dirty-minded, proved to be the god of wine himself, and he offered detailed glasses of nectar and wine for the party-goers. Normal, ditzy girls were no longer silly and blond-haired, but exquisite-looking nymphs that giggled and danced around the annoyed Greek hero, who only a moment ago had appeared defenseless and at the mercy of the gaggle of girls. The stumbling, wobbly man headed towards the door was recognized as an averagely awkward satyr, whose bent legs and unsure footing made his step look uneven and unbalanced.

So, one could fairly conclude, if not from the astonishing scene taking place inside the strange bar, than at least from the irate, glowing goddess storming out of the joint, that this was most definitely _not _your average L.A. bar.

The goddess stopped in her tracks, twirled around, and stood with her hands on her hips to face the entrance to the bar. "Leonardo!" she shrieked, "in case you didn't get the message, we are _so _done!" With that she stomped away from The Wine Dude, stepping off of the the sidewalk curb without checking both ways. She was a goddess, what did she care? Even when a car swung around the bend at 60 miles an hour, she didn't stop or slow down. She simply disappeared into thin air, leaving the driver both very confused and slightly interested to see who the hot girl was, and if he could get her number.

Since she was a goddess, she just teleported into her room on Olympus, stepping out of a shiny hole in the air as if it was as natural as swinging your arms when you walk, or throwing your keys on the table when you get home. But, being the diva that she was (and enjoyed being), she transported _out _of her room, through her bedroom door, and _into _the hallway outside of her door. Then she opened it forcefully, slamming it shut with a satisfying bang, and striding purposefully over to her vanity. There she sat, perched on her sequined stool like she was the goddess of love. Which, coincidentally, was quite appropriate, as that was just who she was.

Aphrodite prepared to take off the make-up she'd put on for the party that night, starting the extensive process she had to do to peel off the heavy coating of cover-up, the fake eyelashes, the blush that conjured rashes, the blood-red lipstick. Somehow, she managed to fit all of it onto her petite face, although it was a miracle that she didn't care to question. She never needed it, or so she was told. If anything, people said, the make-up made her look less attractive. And the that most people didn't realize was that Aphrodite knew that. She knew, better than anyone, that she was beautiful. She was the goddess of love _and _beauty, after all, so it was obvious that she would be extremely gorgeous. But truly, most girls feel more confident when they wear make-up, and Aphrodite was no exception.

There was something about being able to cover yourself up, to hide any flaws in yourself that you saw, to protect any vulnerabilities. It gave you a certain sort of power of yourself, and allowed you to see yourself the way you saw fit. But, at the same time, the more you covered yourself up with the beauty products, the more you would doubt your own beauty. The very beauty you thought you could perfect in the beginning was the same beauty you denied you had at all. You became dependent on make-up, not being able to leave the house without it for fear that people who had only ever seen you with make-up on would recoil at the way you looked without it. In a way, too much make-up was like a drug: the more you used, the worse you felt about yourself.

So it was a beauty phenomenon that Aphrodite felt as good about herself, or at least appeared to, while using that much make-up. Then again, she was the goddess of beauty, so perhaps it wasn't all _that_ shocking.

In fact, it had been due to her good looks that she'd met that douche bag at the Wine Dude tonight. She had sauntered into the club, fashionably late as always, and had instantly felt nearly fifty eyes turn towards her, their gazes admiring and wistful. But one pair of eyes had been especially intense as they stared at her. The amount of attraction the man had been feeling at that moment was enough to get her attention and turn towards the man. Catching his eye, she did a once-over that she suspected he'd already done on her: tall build, blue eyes, pale skin, age maybe 40 or so. He'd been an instant knock-out, and she'd recognized him as a demigod son of Dionysius, which no doubt explained what he'd been doing at his father's bar, and also why he was all over the mortal news, renowned for his acting skills. She'd immediately returned the attraction, and drawn him near to her, using her eyes to hint at what she wanted.

Things had started out fine, but as the night went on and the guests slowly trickled out, the man she'd been gracing with her very interesting company had refilled his glass more than ten times before the evening was through. That had immediately soured the encounter for her. Despite his good looks and charisma, Aphrodite was very adamant about not dating drunks. She could be attracted to a guy regardless of his appearance or personality, but he was instantly no longer a contestant when she found out he was an alcoholic. When it came to men, that was her number one rule, and she never strayed from it. So far it had served her well, and she had never had any real trouble. But tonight had been one of the times in which after she'd explained her reasoning for no longer being interested in the man, he had lashed out at her, even going so far as to throw his beer bottle at her. On a normal occasion, when she was slightly less tipsy, Aphrodite would have certainly done something more dramatic, such as strike down the son of Dionysius with a shower of acidic sparkles, order an army of doves to peck at his eyes (targeting his blue eyes, of course), or mandate that her son Eros shoot the actor with an arrow that would cause him to fall in love with someone much more formidable, such as her half-sister, the virgin goddess Artemis. That would certainly cause problems for poor Leonardo. But that night, Aphrodite hadn't been entirely sober, so the best she'd been able to do was yell at him in front of a crowd and leave him, humiliated, while she stomped away triumphantly, praising herself for her small victory.

However, now as she sat, lonely and dejected, in front of her heart-shaped mirror, entertaining herself only by brushing her long, silky blonde hair, Aphrodite realized that such a triumph needed to be celebrated, even if it was only she who would attend the ceremony. Walking over to and reaching into her massive closet, - which was larger than the White House, as she'd made sure of- she dug around for a moment in the great expanse before finally pulling out a large laundry basket, which she carried over to her triple-king-sized bed and dumped the contents of the basket out on. What spewed out of the basket was an inundation of small pieces of paper: photos. Some were cut from newspapers and magazines, others were pictures that had been copied onto a plain sheet of paper, and even a few oil or pastel paintings, but many were photographs throughout the past two hundred years that Aphrodite or someone else had taken. Each one was a small square or rectangular photo of a man that the goddess of love was somehow affiliated with. Whether she had dated the man, been married to him, had an affair with him, been attracted to and met him, or had admired the man from afar and now had her sights set on attaining him. Approximately half of the papers were marked on the back, whether with a large red "X", or a big green checkmark; the other half were blank on the back, and even a small percentage had a black question mark or an "NA". There were likely more than half a million photos sitting on her bed, stacked up high to the ceiling and sprawled all over the enormous bed, so it was a wonder how so many pictures had managed to be compacted into one, relatively small laundry basket. But then again, it belonged to a goddess, so the answer was simple.

Aphrodite sorted through the mound of paper for only a moment before finding the one she had been searching for. It was a piece of paper torn from a celebrity magazine, and it pictured the man she'd finally met at the bar tonight. The images in her collection were not only magically labeled, they also allowed Aphrodite to see what the man was doing at the moment, no matter _what _they were doing. Which meant that, yes, she could watch them in the shower, but as the goddess of love and beauty, she was oblivious in recognizing the awkwardness and inappropriateness of the situation. At the moment, the actor was passed out on a filthy green couch in gods know where, drooling all over himself. The Greek goddess sighed thoughtfully as she stared at Leonardo's picture, wistfully tracing a finger lovingly over his face. She had truthfully fancied him for quite some time now, but the idiot had been, unknowingly, very stubborn in being summoned to the Wine Dude that night, and she'd had to use a little extra power in order to get him to be there. But he probably just remembered having a sudden impulse to go to his father's bar that night, not anything about a goddess forcing him to make his presence be there.

The goddess of love and beauty continued her ritual by walking over to her musical fountain and twisting one of the marble knobs on the edge. She had to adjust it accordingly by song title, artist, album (if available), and the approximate year, which could be quite a pain for someone who had seen as many centuries as Aphrodite had. The song that burst forth from the fountain after she'd finished adjusting was "Picture to Burn" by Taylor Swift. It was a very country song, not something that she would typically listen to, but since it had come out a few years ago, Aphrodite had replaced it for "Freak Out," which was apparently no longer popular. That had come as quite a shock and a bummer, as she had been a huge disco fan, but oh well; mortal lives were so swift in passing that it hardly mattered. Following the ritual that she used after a breakup, or at least what she considered to be one, the goddess held Leonardo's picture over a purple fire, and sighed in pleasure as the fire caught onto the photo, the lavender tendrils licking at its edges until the photo finally caught fire. But instead of a normal fire, which would naturally burn the picture to a crisp, Aphrodite's special "boy fire" caused a big red "X" to appear on the back of the image. It faded in and out dimly, as if waiting of approval from the goddess, which she gave with a firm kiss to the back of the paper. The X suddenly solidified and glowed a more brilliant red. She sighed with pleasure as the background song to the ritual ended, and she tossed the stamped photo resolutely onto the mound of papers.

Now, on a normal night, that would have been the end of the celebration, and Aphrodite would have rang the bell for a servant of some sort to pack the photos back into the basket and the looming closet, but, as has been established, this was not a normal night for the goddess of love and beauty. Something, whether it was fate or simply woman's intuition, caused her to hesitate on pulling the cord, and instead to walk curiously over to the mountain of pictures she had collected over the centuries. Guided by an absent and nonexistent hand, Aphrodite rummaged through the melee until she came across the photo she had somehow needed to see. Gazing back at her was a boy of about eighteen years old: dark black hair, peach-colored skin, magnificent green eyes, and a smile so brilliantly white and warm that she had to look away for a moment in order to not be blinded.

Percy Jackson.

The boy, despite his wonderful smile, seemed to be in a load of trouble: wherever he was, it was certainly the most terrifying place Aphrodite had ever seen, filled with ominous shadows and nightmarish faces that seemed to lurch at her through the dark places, disappearing as quickly as they had appeared. Behind the son of Poseidon, she saw a horde of demonic monsters chasing after him, baring their fangs and growling in the back of their throats. Percy said something to someone beside him, although she couldn't tell what because the photos didn't carry sound, a feature which she would soon have to install. Thankfully, an explosion seemed to come from the right, blasting the boy to the side and allowing the person he'd been speaking to to enter the shot. It was a gorgeous blonde, with curly hair that fell past her shoulders. The goddess would have thought her to be one of her own unclaimed children were it not for the stunning pair of grey eyes on the girl, which she instantly recognized as related to Athena. Aphrodite immediately noticed the way the two fit together, making a mental note to herself that these two were a couple, although that wouldn't inhibit her attraction to the son of Poseidon, or cause her to hesitate in pursuing him. Aphrodite also noticed that both the son of Poseidon and the daughter of Athena looked extremely exhausted.

Percy was breathing very heavily, his breath ragged, sweat pouring down his forehead, causing his T-shirt to cling to his skin. Her eyes widened when she saw the outline of the six-pack he had. She wondered how his rough, inexperienced hands would feel on her skin, how their breaths would mingle with each other, how her limbs would be tangled and pressed against his. Thinking about his tan body, his muscled arms and legs, his handsome face made her feel warm and tingly all over. Kissing his soft, pink lips would probably be heavenly. Just wondering about how he would murmur her name in her ears made her feel a raging fire in her body. A blaze that would never stop until she stops wishing for his warm body near (or preferably pressed against) hers. This guy was, to sum it up, drop-dead gorgeous. A definite must. She only wondered why she hadn't tried to pursue him before.

But then it all came back to her in a torrent of emotions, and the goddess, her eyes wide with the hope that what she was remembering wasn't true, that the memories she possessed were of another son of Poseidon, scrambled over to her magnificent nightstand. She yanked out the drawers one by one, emptying the contents onto her plush rug with a cacophony of loud noise. Suddenly, a loud thunk sounded, and Aphrodite recognized the sound of her most precious diary. Aphrodite was a woman of many personalities, so naturally she had more than one journal, all of which were color-coded. This one, the pink one, was her favorite by far, for it possessed all the thoughts and memories of each boy she'd ever had an attraction to or a fling with. She opened the book, which magically revealed the page she had on Percy Jackson, and she read with a terrifying interest, her eyes that of a madman as they scanned the page with lightning speed.

_Diary Entry #562,438: Percy Jackson_

_Date: December 19, 2007 A.D._

_I had been hearing about Percy Jackson for quite a while now. He is all the rage on Mount Olympus, and the news is always buzzing with info on him. I'm quite drawn to him, and today I decided that I should confront the poor boy and tell him how I felt, while also trying to see what he's like. _

_I asked Ares to drive me to where the boy was, since I knew he's a pushover for me, even though he's a war god. I'm just that beautiful, I guess. I'm also great in bed, and so is he, which is the only reason I keep him around, since he's not that much of an improvement over my husband, facially-wise. _

_Anyway, the son of Poseidon had embarked on some silly quest to save my half sister Artemis, but I decided to pay him a special visit and intercept his plans._

"_Mind your manners," I heard Ares say to Percy outside of my pristine limousine. "She's not as forgiving of rudeness as I am." Oh, I could've murdered the idiot for that comment! What was he thinking, giving the boy a bad first impression of me? So, naturally, to play off the rude warning, I beamed my brightest smile at the young boy when he opened the limo door, causing his jaw to drop an inch lower than it would have if I had just sat there._

"_Ah, there you are Percy," I said, waving him into the limo to sit by me. I saw a jealous glint in Ares's eye as he slammed the door shut and waited outside. "I am Aphrodite."_

_The poor boy, still enamored by my beauty, only managed to get out a few unintelligible words, something that sounded like, "Um uh gah."_

_I played it off, not wishing to embarrass him, by saying, "Aren't you sweet. Hold this please," I asked, handing him a plate-sized hand mirror and having him hold it up. I had to adjust the mirror in his hands once or twice to get the right angle, but I eventually managed. Although I knew I looked perfect already, I wanted to make an even better first impression, so I added a bit more makeup to my already flawless face, just a touch here and there. "Do you know why you're here?"_

"_I.. I don't know," Percy stammered. He looked nervous, anxious, which disappointed me._

"_Oh dear," I murmured, but continued when I realized he had probably heard me. "Still in denial?" _Because I'm not, _I thought_.

"_I don't know what you're talking about," he said. When I asked him why he was on this quest, he gave me some answer about saving Artemis, and I interrupted him with a roll of my eyes. "Oh, Artemis. _Please. _Talk about a hopeless cause. I mean, if they were going to kidnap a goddess, she should be breathtakingly beautiful, don't you think?" I asked, trying to get him to admit that I was gorgeous. Why couldn't he do that? It wasn't hard. When he continued to support his answer on answering Artemis, I got a little frustrated, and a tear started to slip out of my eye. It's _never _this hard to get someone to admit they like me, so why was he different? But I was not a crier, so I raised the mirror to a height at which he couldn't see my face, or the tears threatening to spill over. I continued trying to get the words out of him, even mustering up the courage to confess my feelings for him (and his body). "But my dear Percy, that is why the others are on this quest. I'm more interested in _you."

_I was so close, so close, to getting him to say he liked me. I could see his mouth forming the words. But then he blurted out at the last second, "Annabeth is in trouble."_

_I beamed, "Exactly!", not realizing what he had said until a moment later. So _that _was why he couldn't like me! He already had feelings for somebody else! And from the looks of his flustered cheeks and worried eyes, those feelings were fairly strong. Suddenly, I knew what I had to do. As the goddess of love, I have to sometimes put others' feelings before mine, even if it means the loss of a perfectly good boy toy to play with, for the chance of true love is better than no chance at all. So, rapidly switching my tactics for this mission, I listened with earnest ears to Percy._

"_I have to help her!" he cried. Aw, so young, so innocent and eager. "I've been having these dreams."_

"_Ah, you even dream about her!" I said with some surprise. How... nice. I tried for a smile, but it probably looked more like a grimace. "That's _so _cute!" I said through clenched teeth._

_He quickly tried to backpedal, but I would have none of it. I explained that there was no reason to defend his emotions, for I was there to help him. When he looked confused, I summed up all the things I had done to assist him. He looked frazzled, but I kept going. "Saving Artemis. Let her stay lost, I say. But a quest for true love-"_

_He tried to backpedal on that too, but I stopped him, gushing over how cute he and Annabeth were together. Honestly, it was a little hard. I don't know why. I guess I'm a little jealous that this girl Annabeth gets to have Percy, and how when they're older he'll be able to do things to her that he won't be able to do to me. And I _soooo _want him and his body, and I can tell that when he grows up he's going to be a real gold mine. So, I'll admit I was having trouble getting over my jealousy, but I tried to make up for it with a romantic pep talk, which seemed to work on Percy, getting him slightly energized. "Follow your heart," I advised. _

"_But...I don't know where it's going. My heart, I mean." I tried for a sympathetic smile, but it really was very sad and wistful. His heart was going in a completely different direction than what I wanted._

"_Not knowing is half the fun," I said. "Exquisitely painful, isn't it?" He had no idea how much rejection could hurt. "Not being sure you love," _I'm sure_, "and who loves you?" _I know who loves you, _I thought sadly. "Oh, you kids!" Oh, the two of them. "It's so cute I'm going to cry!" It's so unfair I'm going to cry._

"_No, no, don't do that," he said worriedly. That only made it worse. I looked up at him pitifully. _

"_You're so cute. I wish all my daughters could break the heart of a boy as nice as you." I started to tear up, water droplets already spilling out of my gorgeous eyes. "Now, you'd better go." I waved goodbye to him, my head turned away so that he wouldn't see how upset I was. I was _so _embarrassed! I never cried in front of the people I pursued. And I hardly ever change my strategy for dealing with the guy either! What was that crap I was spewing back there? 'Follow your heart'? Um, no, I don't want him to do that! I want him to follow his young bodily urges! _

_My eyes still damp from the tears, I checked my face to make sure my mascara hadn't run, which it hadn't, and made a solemn vow to myself as Ares drove in and the limo pulled away. I whispered it to myself, softly so that my boyfriend up front wouldn't be able to hear. "I swear, that no matter what, I will never touch Percy Jackson." A lone tear trickled down my cheek. " His heart will never belong to me. It will always belong to Annabeth. His body will never belong to me. It will always belong to Annabeth. Through the many twists and turns that they endure throughout their love, throughout all the bumps in the road, they will encounter many other lovers, but they will always belong to each other. Percy Jackson will never be mine."_

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**Cut! That's a wrap! Thank you all for reading the chapter. Thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed last chapter. I asked for 100 reviews, you game me 121. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It meant SO much to me. Ch. 12 shout-outs, here they come:**

**HispanicThug: Haha, LOL, that's a good point. Piper's powers would be really useful for that.**

**Brittany Jackson: Yay, thank you for not hating it. And yeah, Percy's powers are ****_definitely _****the coolest! Love your reviews.**

**Wade98: Thanks for the review. I think Percy's are the best, but at least you got it narrowed down to him and Frank.**

**kingpariah: Thank you for your consistently amazing reviews, they really matter. I'm glad you liked the chapter, it was definitely different. And, just so you know, I went back and removed the AN as soon as I saw your review. When I wrote it in, it didn't really feel right, but I guess I was just kind of experimenting with it. Also, I agree, Percy's powers are by far the best!**

**MarburyBlur: Agreed. Good logic. Thanks for the review.**

**The 6th Spectral King: Thanks for reviewing, your reviews are hilarious. LOL, thinking about Leo and Elsa battling it out is ridiculous. But I would agree, Percy is just awesome and his powers are so cool. Sorry if the chapter confused you, it was kinda difficult for me to write anyway.**

**PeriwinkleFire14: Dang girl. You are ****_impressive. _****You literally went through and reviewed every single chapter. And they were such sweet reviews too! I really appreciate everything you did. You're so sweet with the compliments, so thank you a ton. And yaaas Percy is da bomb! Glad you agree, PM me sometime and please review again!**

**Brytte Mystere: Nice choices. Percy is my favorite, but Nico and Hazel are both pretty cool too. Weird though that although they kind of have the same parent, they have different powers.**

**AwkwardNerdyGirl: Don't know if you saw the AN at the top, but thank you SO much for all your incredible help, this chapter would not have existed without you. Glad that part made you laugh. And, although my choices are becoming limited, I've got at least ten more chapters lined up, so no worries!**

**Jennn: Hi! So happy to have a review from you again. Thank you for contributing to the 121 reviews I now have. True, I did have exactly 120, but with your help I got it to 121! Thanks a bunch. Now, on to your review: Wow. Well, I see your point, and I will definitely be using what you said to go back and edit. Whether you realize it or not, I actually really look forward and listen to your reviews, since they help me so much. I'll go back and fix that as soon as I can, and thanks for pointing it out. You're completely right, and I don't want my writing to be sloppy or anything, but I'm glad you think I've progressed with my writing. Lastly, you make a great point about Frank. I hadn't really thought about how powerful he was until you said so.**

**RoboMonkey101: Hey, thanks for the review. I'll go R&amp;R for your new chapter right after I post this chapter. Nico does have some pretty awesome powers, but I feel so bad for the guy, just with all he's been through. Whew, it's rough. Glad you liked the Hestia and Hera chapters, they were slightly difficult but fun to do. Review again!**

** Please review people, it really makes a difference. Just ONE review! Also, please follow, favorite, and vote on the poll on my profile! Here's the Q for this chapter:**

**Which POV do you prefer to read in the HoO series?**

**Welp (yes, I say that), that's all for now. Love to everyone, hugs and kisses and all that, blah blah blah. Thank you so much, wonderful people!**

**I LOVE you!**

**~Princess Andromeda II**


	14. Katie

**I am SO sorry you guys! I haven't updated in a while, and I apologize for that. In addition to being extremely busy (it's summer time, after all), I had a serious case of writer's block and just couldn't find the motive to get started on this chapter. But, yesterday I got home and wrote this in about an hour, so here you go. I promise, no matter how far in between updates, I will NOT abandon this story! I love this story too much, and I am not that kind of writer that gives up easily. Thank you all for your wonderful support. I give you Chapter 14 of "Everyone Loves Percy"!**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan does not seem to have the writer's block that I experienced, so I'm not him.**

**(text from: the Last Olympian, chapter 11)**

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**Katie**

"STOLLS! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

The green-eyed girls mighty roar could be heard by every nymph, demigod, and satyr around as she stormed across camp, her stomp matching that of General Sherman's march to the sea during the Civil War, in which he left a long line of destruction in the wake of his army. Thus was the mirrored effect of Katie Gardner's rage. For those who do not know Katie on a personal level, it would be hard to describe the full extent of her wrath, especially when it is concerned with the troublesome Stoll brothers. But, in order to try to paint a somewhat vivid picture, try to imagine a snarling, menacing animal who has just been robbed of something of great importance, pride and value, such as a cheetah's spots or an elephant's trunk. Whatever one manages to conjure up may be as close of an idea to Katie's rage as one may see without actually meeting the young lady herself.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" she cat-called in a sing-song manner. She knew they had to be around here somewhere, and even if they were in North Dakota at this point, their specially trained ears would still have been acute enough to hear her calling for them, although that would not be reason enough for them to go to her. When Katie Gardner was mad, you stayed out of her way. It was the unspoken rule at camp. That's why when the people at camp saw the daughter of Demeter approaching, smoke nearly pouring out of her ears like a cartoon character and her face the exact shade of tomato red, they made a wide path to let her pass. Many averted their eyes and flinched when she went by, a few of the meeker ones whimpering quietly, "Please don't hurt me!"

It was comments like this that managed to penetrate the invincible armor of Katie Gardner. People called her bossy. She preferred being known as a strong leader. They said she was too controlling. She called it passionate. Sure, she was known as being no-nonsense, maybe even strict, but that was part of who she was. She didn't take crap from anyone, especially two mischievous sons of Hermes. Somebody needed to keep an eye on those two! Or, more appropriately, on their wallets; after all, the boys' last name was _Stoll, _so anyone who didn't go into a room inhabited by them without being wary of being pickpocketed was a fool.

Katie knew she was tough. Maybe not the rough kind of tough like Clarisse was, but she knew that on the inside she was made of steel. She was strong. She was independent. Shewas patient and kind. And yet somehow it was always the Stolls who managed to get under her skin, specifically that rascal Travis. Their relationship was weird: when Travis was with his brother, everything was very normal between them, Katie doing the chasing while they did the stealing and marauding. But when Connor was gone (a rare occurrence indeed), Katie often felt very unsure with Travis. They had been "dating" for quite a while now, some number of months, but they hadn't really done anything serious except for going out to see a few movies and going to the fireworks show at the end of the summer together. To be perfectly honest, the relationship wasn't awkward so much as it was new territory. How strong were his feelings for her? More importantly, how strong were her feelings for him?

It seemed as though she would never know, Katie thought as she ran past a group of giggling dryads and raced past the dining hall. Inside she could hear lots of loud clattering and clanging. She was always so caught up in straightening out the Stolls and making them leave her alone that she never gave much thought to actually spending time with them- specifically, him. But maybe she could learn to be more lenient, with time, patience, and a little sacrifice on Travis's part too.

Unfortunately, during some of her tirades she often came across as mean, scary and controlling. That was what really hurt her. She was viewed sometimes as an unreasonable, strict, and boring. Maybe not by her friends, who had spent enough time with her to know that when she was more relaxed she was very kind, gentle, and patient, but certainly newcomers to camp felt that way. And why shouldn't they? From what they saw, that's who she was, and they would never know any different unless she showed them her true self.

As Katie raced down the beach and onto the dock, she was filled with an overwhelming resolution to renew and fix herself. All this time, she had been concerned with straightening out the Stolls and making them behave better. _But maybe, _she thought as she reached the edge of the pier and leaned over the side, _it's myself I need to fix. _She stared at her reflection, the image choppy from the constant waves that splashed around, with a phlegmatic and sanguine expression that was new to her face.

For a moment, she seemed to not recognize her face. True, she looked the same when one counted the defining features, like her shoulder-length brown hair, or her leafy green eyes, or her skin that was sunburned from the plethora of hours she spent gardening outdoors. All of those easily recognizable features were there, and yet, somehow, there was something different underneath there, something that she had trouble pinning down.

Could she really do it? Change, and remodel herself to be the person she knew deep-down that Travis deserved. Sure she could, she was Katie Gardner, the girl who could do anything with the right amount of willpower and inner strength. But, she questioned herself again,

should she do it? Certainly a change would be nice, refreshing even. And it might help her get the guy in the end; at least, that's how it worked for Sandy from _Grease. _But was getting the guy so important that she should alter herself to gain him? Ugh, dating was _so _complicated!

"Travis!" she yelled to no one in particular. Her frustration extremely palpable at the moment, Katie felt a tug in her lower abdomen, and blades of grass shot up out of the wooden dock like daisies in the snow. She yanked the lush tendrils out, the roots still protruding from the wooden planks, and hurled the chunks violently into the water, and that was it. That was the extent of her tirade. A few clumps of grass floating peacefully on the rocky waves of Long Island Sound. Wow. _Beware of Katie Gardner!_, she thought to herself bitterly. _Don't make her mad, or she'll make grass grow, and she'll throw it at you!_ Yep. She was definitely a force to be reckoned with. Katie's thoughts were mirrored exactly when someone behind her spoke:

"Impressive," the voice said.

Katie turned around wtih a start. It actually _was _impressive for someone to be able to sneak up on her like that. After spending so much item hunting the infamous Stoll brothers, her senses had improved considerably, and she could rarely be startled by anyone. _Or anything, _the voice in her mind mocked when she registered the pair of eyes that met hers.

Startling was not the only word to describe them. Vibrant, alive, compassionate. There was an undeniable sign of innocence and oblivion in them, as well as obvious sorrow and darkness. It really was astounding that someone's eyes could be painted so vividly, but, then again, the eyes did belong to none other than Percy Jackson.

"Percy," she whispered. Not sure that he heard her, she cleared her throat and tried again. "Percy." He nodded as a sign of greeting.

"Katie." He inclined his head towards the scene of broken grass on the dock and the sad clumps that were sinking to that bottom of the sound. "Grass was not meant to grown on top of water, in case that's what you were testing." She didn't say anything, so he continued.

"Seriously, what goes on that would make _you _of all people destroy grass? I mean, being the daughter of Demeter and all," his eyes hardened when he said her mother's name, "I assumed that you would have more respect for the Earth." She opened her mouth to explain, but he walked forward, hands in his pockets, and plopped down next to her, his legs dangling off the side of the pier. "Not to mention that you were somewhat taking your anger out on _my _territory. Now, I could accept you throwing trash in the water, or spilling oil or some other dangerous material on it, but grass-throwing? Come on Gardner, that's just low." He cracked a lopsided grin, and she allowed herself to smile slightly. When she didn't respond, he nudged her lightly and spoke softly.

"Okay Katie, seriously, what's up?" She sighed.

"I don't like myself." He looked startled but didn't interrupt her. She went on. "I'm so dull and boring, and I want to change but then at the same time I don't, and then I kind of like this guy and then I kind of don't, and he might sort of like me but he maybe he doesn't really and I just don't know!"

Katie was surprised when the son of Poseidon didn't respond for a moment or two. He seemed to be lost in a train of thought, his eyes trained on the distance, seeing something past the visible horizon. "You know what I do whenever I'm confused? Or lonely? Or just having a bad day?"

She shook her head curiously. He continued.

"I go to my happy place. The ocean. The ocean is part of me. It's in me. So sometimes I come here and just, I don't know, connect with it. Smell the salty air, see the rhythm of the water, listen to the waves crashing on the shore and the seagulls crying, feel the salt cling to my skin, maybe even taste it on my tongue. I come here to find whatever I feel is missing in me. I'm guessing that you're having a similar problem, so I recommend you go find your happy place." Then he got up and left without another word.

Katie was stunned. Did that really just happen? Did the goofy and silly Percy Jackson just give her advice, advice that was not only really deep but also actually _good_? Annabeth had told her there was another side to Percy, but Katie had never pictured it like that. She was surprised by how much the words of the son of Poseidon hit home, and she suddenly felt a new connection to him, or maybe just the words he'd spoken. Percy Jackson, a boy that she'd often labeled a goofball, had just showed her how mature he could be. Maturity was exactly what she strived to find in Travis, although she always failed. For a brief moment, Katie tried to visualize herself in a relationship with Percy: holding hands while they walked on the beach at night, a romantic candle-lit dinner, maybe a kiss or two in the moonlight...

She shook her head to clear the thoughts. It didn't feel right. She loved Percy Jackson as a brother and a friend, not like that. But Travis, she knew, she could love as more than a friend. She stood up, wiped away the wet grass that clung to her pants, and walked down the dock, away from Percy's happy place to find her own. She already knew where it was.

A small outcropping on the edge of the forest, tucked away in a glade near Zeus's fist. There was a small brook bubbling nearby, birds were singing in the trees, and the flowers were in full-bloom. She laid down gently in the lush grass and closed her eyes. She finally felt at peace enough to think.

_Who am I? What am I? Others are so defined in what they do, in what they contribute to camp. Annabeth is obviously the brains of the operation. Clarisse is the brute force. And Percy is the perfect paragon of a leader. _She briefly recalled the way he'd fought so heroically at the Battle of Manhattan, sending their troops into battle and he alongside them. The way he had taken control of the situation, handing out orders and trying to do what was best for everyone.

_But what about me? _she wondered again.

"Katie!" someone called. "Katie! I see you, so don't try to hide."

She expected herself to groan at the sound of his voice, or to tackle him and start punching him when he sat down in front of her, but instead, the voice and sight of Travis Stoll was welcome to Katie indeed.

"Travis," she said patiently, "where is my prom dress?"

"Well," he rambled nervously, although all anger had left her, "it was supposed to be a surprise. You see, I would steal your dress, and then you would follow me, and then there was a banner and a confetti cannon and the Hephaestus kids made some fireworks, but then you didn't follow me and I couldn't find you, so then I thought that maybe you somehow knew what was going on, and that you left so you could avoid me, and-"

"Travis," she interrupted, "what the heck are you talking about?"

"Prom," he said, confused. "Duh. I stole your dress so I could ask you to prom. Like I said, it was supposed to be a surprise. I figured you would chase after me like you usually do when I mess with you, and then we would run into that place near the waterfall where we had our first date," he blushed, his ears pink at the tips," and a banner would drop down that said 'WILL YOU BE MY PROM DATE?' But, obviously that plan didn't work out."

Katie was so surprised she couldn't even speak. That's why he'd stolen her dress? Really? And everything he'd planned to do for her...something that thought-out and well-planned certainly showed a lot of maturity on his part. She realized he was even more mature than she'd originally thought when he continued anxiously:

"So, since the banner idea didn't work, I suppose I should just suck it up like a man and ask you: Katie Gardner, will you be my date to prom?"

She paused for a moment. Prom dates were big decisions. Was this what she wanted? She could seek after a guy like Percy, who was not only strong, a good leader, and incredibly good looking, but also a leader. Or she could have a guy like Travis, who was sweet, funny, cute, and mature in his own way. She made her decision.

"Yes," she said.

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**Well, that concludes another chapter in this story. Here are the shout-outs for those who reviewed in Chapter 13:**

**nahte123456: Thanks for all your reviews, and yes, I know she seems nicer than she probably is, but I'm not a mean person, so it's hard for me to write mean characters. :)**

**kingpariah: THANK YOU for your amazing consistence in reviewing. It's really nice to have such a dedicated reader. :) Anyway, I'm really glad you liked it, and don't feel bad if you can't think of much to say. I'm not expecting you to point out every flaw (which there are ****_quite _****a few of, trust me) or anything, but your reviews, no matter what you say, make a big difference. As for the Q, I agree. Not that I hate them, but Jason and Piper are my least favorites. They're just kind of annoying, at times, I guess. Thanks for being Reviewer #100. I honestly wouldn't have wanted it to be anybody else!**

**Brittany Jackson: Glad you liked the chapter, it was a bit challenging to write. And I totally agree; Percy is the best. **

**Daap: Both are good POV's. Thanks for reviewing!**

**AwkwardNerdyGirl: First off, thanks for being so dedicated to my story, it's great to have such a good friend/helper on here! Glad you liked the decorations on Olympus, and the chapter itself. Thank you SO MUCH for your dedication!**

**SoulHorse: Wow, I totally forgot about Reyna. Percy's my favorite, but Annabeth and Reyna's are amazing as well...**

**Famous0618: YAY! I kind of started shipping them too, just by writing the chapter!**

**Guest #1: Um...I'm glad? I guess? Bitch fests are good. In a way. If you enjoyed it, then I'm glad. If not, sorry? **

**The 6th Spectral King: Great choices (my favorite is Percy, no surprise there.) I enjoyed writing Aphrodite: it was fun and challenging. Also, I think I've read the story you mentioned, and it's REALLY good! Nice job.**

**PeriwinkleFire14: Girl, you are on fire (haha, see what I did there?) with the reviews. But seriously, you are SO sweet! I highly doubt I'm one of the best fanfic writers on here, or that I've got one of the best stories, but even you saying that means so much. Thanks for all your support and reviewing.**

**America: Nice name, first of all. Secondly, DANG. You went through and reviewed EVERY single chapter up until the last one. Thank you SO much! I wish you would get an account so we could PM... Anyway, yeah I tried to be a little more descriptive than usual, so thanks for noticing. I agree that Percy's POV was better in the first series, but Leo and Hazel are both good choices too.**

**Jennn: Whoa. I'm sorry you didn't like the last chapter. Really, it pretty much crushed me when I read your review. Your one of my best reviewers, and for a while I felt like I disappointed you or something. But then I realized that not every reader will like my writing, or one story, or even every chapter, and that's alright, because it allows for growth and improvement in the writing. Lastly, I went back and changed the thing in the AN, so that's done. Thanks for your review that took up 45 minutes (shows that you care) and thanks for being so bluntly honest, as always. :) **

**Anibelli: LOL, your review made me laugh. Thanks for reviewing and for being such a good friend on here. Keep up the good work with you ****_own _****story too!**

**Mae: Good choice.**

**Guest #2: Here's the update! Sorry it took so long, your review actually motivated me to write this chapter, so thank YOU.**

**Here is the Q for today's chapter:**

**Which cabin at Camp Half-Blood is the coolest, and why?**

**I wanted to thank you all again for your amazing support. Your reviews, follows, and favs mean so much to me, so thank you so much. Thanks for reading this far into the AN, too. :) I hope you all have an excellent day.**

**Love,**

**~Princess Andromeda II**


	15. Clarisse

**SURPRISE! Bet you weren't expecting a chapter this early, were you? (TWO DAYS IN A ROW? I'm awesome. JK.) But I decided to go ahead and give you the update for next Tuesday, 1. because you guys were so nice about my late update and 2. I'm going out of town next week and don't want to cheat you out of an update. So, please enjoy the chapter you weren't expecting, Chapter 15 of "Everyone Loves Percy"!**

**Disclaimer: Surprise! I'm not Rick Riordan. Who'da thunk it?**

**(text from: the Lightning Thief, chapter 6)**

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**Clarisse**

Bullying isn't new.

At some point in their life, everyone has been the victim of intimidation of some sort. It's just natural when people are young. Emotions run high, tensions mount, hormones are out of control, insecurities are numerous, and, to put it simply, some people are just mean.

That used to be Clarisse la Rue. The Bully. The Mean Girl. The One You Avoided in the Hallway.

But things changed. People changed. Percy Jackson came along.

Before Percy Jackson came around, Clarisse was a force to be reckoned with. At only 13 years old, she was already the head counselor of the Ares cabin. Everyone in the cabin respected and looked up to her, or maybe they just obeyed her. No one tried to go up against her in squabbles of any sort. She had a close posse of followers, made up of girls ranging in age from 12 to 16. She held _that _much power in her meaty hands. She was Clarisse la Rue, favored daughter of Ares, and a girl to be wary and cautious of. Going up against her would be like trying to defy a freight train.

_But then_, she recalled bitterly as she turned the corner of the Big House's wraparound porch and entered the screen door, _Mr. Prissy Perfect had to come along and ruin everything. He took away my popularity, my position, my posse, everything that mattered to me. For a while he even managed to make me soft, but thankfully I recovered from that. Now he's got this whole camp wrapped around his finger. _

She threw the door open, smacking a young boy from the Demeter cabin in the head. "Sorry," he apologized quickly and quietly, before scurrying out of her way as fast as he could, cradling his no-doubt broken, or at least bleeding, nose.

She didn't even pause long enough to check if he was alright, but just kept plowing her way through the winding corridors of the building. She finally reached her destination: a room, referred to as the rec room, that was used to hold the head of cabin meetings. In the center of the room was a beat-up, dingy looking ping pong table. On it sat several jars of Cheez Whiz and a few old pizza boxes (with some leftover slices), but, surprisingly, no paddles or balls that would make sense for a ping pong table. Around the table sat about twenty other kids, looking bored and tired, with the exception of one girl.

_Annabeth Chase, _Clarisse thought with an evil tone. That girl had it too good. Not only was she unbelievably gorgeous: startling grey eyes, blonde princess curls, perfectly tanned skin, unfair curves, all of which made Clarisse's dull brown eyes, stringy and sometimes greasy light brown hair, pimple-ridden forehead, and bulky frame pale in comparison; but she also was known as the most intelligent girl at camp. It made sense about the brains, since her mother was Athena, but the baffling beauty still went unexplained. In addition to all of that, the girl was still extremely blessed by her title as the girlfriend of Percy Jackson, a label to which Clarisse was secretly jealous of beyond all measure. Recently she'd discovered how strongly she'd felt about the son of Poseidon, but her feelings had only really surfaced after she'd agreed to be Chris Rodriguez's girlfriend. The feelings she'd once felt for him had somewhat faded, and she mainly stayed with him out of guilt, which was an emotion she didn't feel very often.

"Clarisse," said Chiron disapprovingly. "You're late," he pointed out.

"I know, Chiron. It's not my fault. I had to beat up a few-" The centaur stopped her by firmly holding up his hand.

"I don't want to hear it," he stated simply. "You have eaten up roughly an eighth of our entire school day. You were late to the lesson, and thus kept everyone else waiting." Clarisse inwardly rolled her eyes as she saw Annabeth nod emphatically, as if to prove a point. "Do not be tardy again tomorrow. Please take your seat."

Clarisse sat down with a huff. "Whatever," she said, loud enough for the other students to hear, but not for the ears of Chiron, a feat which she had achieved by practicing in many classrooms when she was growing up in Phoenix, Arizona. She noticed with some dismay out of the corner of her eye that Percy, who sat a few seats over to her right, was scowling slightly at her attitude. She tried to turn her attention to Chiron, but she could feel Percy's disapproving eyes boring into the back of her head.

"Class," said the teacher, addressing his select-few, year-round pupils, "can you name all three Fates?" Clarisse gave another roll of the eyes when she saw Annabeth's hand shoot up from the group of bored campers. "Anyone _besides _Annabeth?" Dead silence. He moved on. " How about the three Furies?" Annabeth's lone hand remained poised in the air. Chiron sighed. "One of them?"

Surprisingly, Percy raised his hand tentatively, as if unsure whether or not volunteering to answer was such a good idea. "Alecto, right? Well, I called her Mrs. Dodds when she was my math teacher, but I'm pretty sure her name is Alecto."

"Correct, Percy." Chiron looked impressed. "Well done." Both Chiron and Annabeth rewarded Percy for his answer by beaming with pride, their faces practically glowing and their faces nearly melting from their immense grins. "Thank you all, or at least some of you, for answering the question of the day. Now, I know you're all anxious to get your test scores back from yesterday, so, Miranda, if you please." The daughter of Demeter stood up and passed out papers marked all over with red marks.

Clarisse groaned. "We're all gonna fail, I just know it," she said, trying to get a reaction of some sort, from anyone. Preferably Percy. She wasn't disappointed.

Percy pointed his pizza slice at Clarisse. "You, ma'am, are a ray of sunshine."

Surreptitiously sneaking a glance over at Annabeth's paper and comparing the girl's grade to her own, she immediately became frustrated and balled up her test into a wad of paper, stuffing it into her pocket and brewing over a bunch of hateful names in her head. She allowed her anger to build up inside of her, like she did when she was preparing herself for a fight.

After class, Clarisse confronted Annabeth. A "confrontation" is slightly different for her than most people, as there were no actual _words _involved. Instead, she just went up behind the daughter of Athena as she was stepping down off the porch of the Big House, and pushed the girl into the dirt with a mighty thud.

Normally, she may have reacted more quickly, but Clarisse hadn't picked a fight with anyone for a long time, so most people probably assumed she was peaceful, like a dormant volcano. But no, this volcano was ready to erupt.

Before Clarisse could throw another punch, someone had pinned her arms behind her back and was pulling her away from the girl on the ground. She struggled against the restraints, but whoever it was was awfully strong, for she couldn't move her arms an inch. She was pulled into the Big House by whoever it was, and they stopped right inside the restroom there (which was intended for use by both girls and boys, since many of the campers had trouble reading the signs by normal bathrooms, due to their dyslexia).

"Let me go!" Clarisse finally shouted, her voice hoarse and strained from the effort of trying to pry herself loose from the person's vice-like grip.

"Okay," the person said. She felt his grip loosen, and she swung her arm around, her hand already balled into a fist and trying to gain a punch. She succeeded, but wished she hadn't when she saw that her fist had collided with Percy's face, of all people.

She immediately tried to apologize, for she wouldn't have punched him if she'd known it was him, but he stopped her short by clenching his fists tight, thus causing all the toilets in the bathroom to send forth a burst of water at a diagonal angle. The angle was so direct, and the stream so harsh, that Clarisse could not move either way, left or right, her body flanked on either side by erupting toilets.

"Let's talk, Clarisse, shall we?" Percy said, his face turned down into a frown. She shuddered, and nodded. "To do that, I'm going to let you go, but you have to promise to not try to hit me again, okay?" She nodded once again sublimely.

"First of all, you're a bully." Clarisse gulped. "I strongly dislike bullies. I've met quite a few of them in my years. They've ranged from the tough athletes at school, to people here at camp, to girls very similar to you. The thing that bothers me so much about bullies is that they take out whatever problems they're dealing with on other people." He gave her a pointed look. "Look, Clarisse, I've met your dad on several occasions, and I know how intimidating he can be. If you're having any issues with him, you have to tell somebody, and maybe they can help you." She shook her head to show that she wouldn't say a word, and Percy sighed in frustration. "You want to be that way? All shut-off and distant? Fine. Whatever, I could care less." Clarisse managed to blink back her tears. "But next time you want to take out your anger, do it somewhere where people who haven't done a damn thing to won't get hurt."

He almost turned to go, but he faltered a moment longer. "Bullies like you may not realize how much damage you can do. I highly doubt it. But to the victims, it makes a huge difference. I remember my first day at camp. I was young, impressionable, and it was my first day in my new home. And you welcomed me by trying to dunk my head in the toilet. I already felt worthless, but you only confirmed what I felt. I remember waht you said to me, 'Like he's Big Three Material. Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking.' And you and your friends laughed at me. You had the nerve to _laugh. _Do yourself and everyone else a favor, Clarisse, and don't ever do something like that again." Clarisse's jaw was dropped in shock.

As he walked out the door, Clarisse felt a nauseating wave of deja vu when he murmured, "You want to gurgle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth."

After he left, Clarisse la Rue lay on the dirty floor of the bathroom and cried.

Having then learned a valuable lesson, she decided to close her mouth.

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**That's all. Sorry for the abrupt ending, and that this chapter is so short. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. Here are the shout-outs for Chapter 14:**

**kingpariah: Thank you, as always. Unfortunately, I don't have a ton of time for acknowledgements at the moment, so I'm afraid for right now I'll just have to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU and THANK YOU for everything you said. Your reviews are my favorite to read, and I really look forward to them.**

**nahte 123456: Yeah, I'm sorry there wasn't a ton of drama or action or whatever, but I guess it's just sort of a sweet chapter. "Down to earth," like you said. OMG that's hilarious, considering who Katie's mom is...Thanks for the review**

**SamTheKingOfHell: I tried my best with Clarisse, although I don't know if that's good enough. Read Chapter 17 when I post it, and then we'll see how I do. Thanks for the review!**

**Cynical Chinchill: Hi! I don't think you've ever reviewed for this story, but from the looks of your VERY nice review, it sounds like you've been following its slow but sure progress. Thank you. Anyway, thanks for answering the question of the day: Percy's cabin sounds the best to me too. Very relaxing. Thanks again!**

**Brittany Jackson: Glad you liked it! Poseidon's cabin is probably my favorite (cuz Percy would be there...) but Hecate sounds cool too. Hadn't really thought about her. Anyway thanks for the great reviews, like always.**

**PeriwinkleFire14: Thanks. Hopefully last chapter made you ship Tratie more. Ares cabin sounds kinda scary, but also cool. Thanks for reviewing!**

**America: Glad you liked all the Tratie moments! They are so cute together. Anyway thanks for reviewing and please do it again!**

**Here's the Q:**

**Who is most overlooked character in either PJO or HoO, and why?**

**Thank you for reading this super-short chapter, even when you probably weren't expecting it. Don't forget to favorite, follow, review, and vote on the poll on my profile!**

**Love to everyone,**

**~Princess Andromeda II**


	16. Silena

**Hi everyone! I don't have a ton of time, so I'll get straight to the point: this is a new chapter (obviously), I hope you like it, review, thank you if you reviewed last chapter (shout-outs are at the bottom, and have been added to Chapter 15 too), and please enjoy Chapter 16 of "Everyone Loves Percy"!**

**Disclaimer: I REALLY wish I was Rick Riordan. I really do. That would be so cool. But I'm not. :(**

**(text from: the Last Olympian, chapter 16)**

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**Silena**

History repeats itself.

That has been said myriad times before. Countless history professors and geniuses have pointed out the facts that support this theory, so it was accepted as common logic, because it was. Silena knew better than anyone else.

For years when she was younger, Mr. Brunner had been a history professor at her middle school in Los Angeles. When she had signed up for Greek Mythology and saw him listed as the teacher of that class, she'd been beyond ecstatic. Mr. Brunner was known as the cool in an I'm-old-and-I-make-it-awesome kind of way: tweed jacket, surrounded by a never-fading coffee aroma, and a scruffy, thinning beard were the elements that made up his persona; that, and a genuine interest in his students and true well-wishes for them to succeed in school and, ultimately, life.

It's likely that that's what had first sparked Silena's interest in being a teacher. So she'd followed in her middle-school teacher's footsteps, aspiring to be the same normal, encouraging mentor that he had been. Except for the fact that he hadn't been normal at all, a fact which she learned when he'd scooped up her and another boy at her school onto his centaur behind and had galloped all the way to a place called Camp Half-Blood in New York, never faltering in his constant trot, and causing the two kids to bump up and down on his haunches. When they'd arrived at the strange camp, the boy and girl had been told that they were demigods: children of a mortal parent and a Greek god or goddess. Both had been relatively unsurprised, since their history teacher always seemed to have a way of bring the old Greek myths to life and making them a reality.

Now, six years later, Silena was living out the dream she had had since she was in Mr. Brunner's class: being a schoolteacher. No doubt, it was a very unglamorous life, especially for a daughter of Aphrodite: the pay was awful, the hours were atrocious, and the endless staff meetings that resolved nothing were a nightmare. But the positives outweighed the negatives more than she could have imagined. Seeing the middle school kids' eyes light up when she talked about Greek mythology, passing on stories that had existed for thousands of years, was payment enough. Besides, it was another way to remember her previous life, something to hold onto.

You see, Silena Beauregard no longer existed. She had died six years ago in a war against Kronos and his army, her stand against the Lydian Drakon being her last. She had died quickly and quietly, eager to see her boyfriend who had died a few days before for the same cause. She called him Charlie, but everyone else called him Beckendorf. He had been about to propose to her, she assumed, because he'd hinted several times at what type of ring she'd wanted, and he'd tried on multiple occasions to get her alone in a romantic setting, but she'd been far too busy doing...other things, which she cared not to think about. Some might think it too young to get engaged, but demigods rarely live past 30, and besides, the couple had known each other forever. In fact, Charles Beckendorf was the classmate whom she had been whisked away with when she'd found out of her heritage.

So the prospect of dying hadn't been so terrible. She wound up meeting him in Elysium, as everyone expected, and they had lived together happily. For a few days. Then they'd realized that they would never be able to grow up, get married, have kids, be _normal. _They were forever stuck as souls in a paradise that was no paradise to them. So, in a "final death wish", they had appealed to Hades, begging him for the chance to be put together in a new life. He had consented, placing their spirits into the bodies of a young couple who had just crashed from alcohol overdose on their wedding night.

He unmangled the bodies in preparation, and ever since then, Silena had been known to the world as Mary Kate Thompson (previously a Campbell, as she was told by her"friends), a petite young lady with long straight blond hair and blue eyes. She was also known by her "friends" and "family" as the loving wife of Mr. Jacob William Thompson, an extremely wealthy man who was the chief engineer down at a car company he had inherited from his father. The happy twosome were expecting a child sometime next year, and had even been told by the doctor that it may be twins., The couple, overcome with money from Mr. Thompson's parents, were fortunate enough to have the funds to live in the cozy and insanely expensive city of Carmel, California.

So life wasn't bad by any means. The only downside was that neither Silena nor Charlie- for they were still themselves on the inside, but only used their secret names in intimate moments with each other- possessed their previous demigod powers like they used to. They were just normal human beings, with the minds and hearts of those who had seen _so_ much more than other average people.

"Has anyone ever heard the name Achilles before?" Mrs. Thompson called out to her final period of the day, a class that was always pumping with enthusiasm, but also giving off waves of anxiety and impatience for the day to be over. This was her most challenging class, so she had to make the lessons extra interesting in order to spark their interest and grab their attention.

A few students who sat up front and noticed more nodded, a few in the middle looked up at the name, and those in the back flung erasers and pencils at each other in a bored manner. They weren't bored with _her _or the _lesson _necessarily, but just the idea of school itself.

"Well," she continued enthusiastically, taking special care to meet the eyes of those seated in the back fo the room, "for those of you who haven't, he was one of the greatest Greek heroes of all time. He's famous for many things, but the thing he is perhaps most well-known for was his power of invincibility." This word caused a few heads to look up, the subject finally getting interesting. Silena smiled inwardly, and Mrs. Thompson on the outside.

"Does anyone not know what invincibility is?" she asked before proceeding. A small, shy boy in the third row raised his hand tentatively. She gave him a warm, reassuring smile. "Invincibility is the state of being too powerful to hurt," she explained. Something clicked inside her head. "Unable to be defeated, or overcome." A memory, painful and shameful, surfaced. "Able to withstand any amount of pressure, no matter how unbearable." A pounding aching in her head began to throb, "One moment, please," she said, and she pretended to lean down in her desk to look for a marker. But in reality, an unavoidable memory from her past had seized her thoughts, squeezing her mind tight like a boa constrictor until she was forced to focus on the tasteless scene she dreaded to see.

"_ARES!" she cried in a shrill, frightened voice, unusually high even for her. She thrust her- well, Clarisse's- electric spear that crackled with energy into the air in a triumphant manner that was a little early, considering they hadn't won yet. She charged head-forward into a raging battle, demigods versus drakon, with twelve chariots following in a formation behind her. She and half of the forces took on the brute force of the monster, slashing at its hideous hide and maw with deadly weapons. She heard a few cries of astoundment and some murmurs of awe and surprise ripple through the demigods' lines, amazed that Clarisse herself had admitted she was wrong and led her cabin into battle._

_Little did they know how wrong they were._

_As soon as they began to charge, something went wrong: two of the chariots were caught under the drakon's gaze and crashed into a row of cars lined up on the street. Though it definitely put their side at less of an advantage, Silena pressed forward, knowing that she had to succeed to recompense for everything she'd done wrong recently. _

_The weapons did little against the drakon's tough exterior, so an unspoken decision to aim for its mouth passed through the troop of Ares kids- and Silena. The monster's maw was soon a slimy mix of poison and weapons, which apparently did _not _feel good to the drakon, because it let out a terrifying cry that roughly translated to "Ow!"_

"_Ares, to me!" called Silena. She tried to make her voice sound deeper to match her friend's, but she feared she had given herself away with her high-pitched voice._

_The battle proceeded, but the arrival of the Ares' cabin and their supposed leader was a short-lived advantage, for as they charged deeper into the fray, favor turned sour for them. The lances broke against the drakon's skin. Two more chariots overturned. One Ares camper was simply swallowed up by the beast. Another camper was knocked aside with a sickening crunch. A third received a shower in boiling hot drakon poison. _

This isn't working, _Silena thought. _There's too much defense, not enough offense. Remember what it takes to win Capture the Flag? Go for it.

_The Clarisse look-alike grabbed a shield off of the ground and raced at the drakon in a direct sprint. Through the blur of her peripheral vision, she could barely make out Percy screaming to her, "You can do it! A child of Ares is destined to kill it!" _

_Silena faltered for a moment._ And you were destined to be invincible, _she thought to herself, remembering what Kronos had told her the boy had done two days earlier. _Why can't I be strong like you, and resist the pressure to be one in Kronos's army? _she wondered bitterly. Ever since she'd discovered through her "master" what the son of Poseidon had done by bathing in the River Styx, Silena had had a steely resolve to change her ways. To do that, she would have to give up everything: her friends, her family, her future. She would die young. She would have to sacrifice everything. But she would die repented, hopefully. She would be a hero, like Percy, whom she admired greatly for his will power._

_She would get to see Charlie again._

_Her mind made up, she shouted "ARES!" in a terrifying voice, leveled her spear, and charged the drakon, her eyes no longer filled with fear, but with the hope of seeing Charlie again. She dimly wa aware of someone calling out behind her to wait, but there was no stopping her now. She couldn't even stop herself or dodge out of the way when she saw the drakon turn towards her and spit poison directly in her face. She screamed, fell, and waited for the moment when she would again see Charlie. _Maybe, _she thought as she drifted, _I will die a hero, like Percy.

Silena sat up from her desk with a start, and was surprised to see from the still-expectant faces of her students that only a few seconds had passed. She stood up and passed out a few pages of homework, which her kids never minded, about the life of Achilles.

"Achilles," she finalized, writing his name on the board in Expo marker in both the English and Greek spellings. Ἀχιλλεύς, it said. Something about the Greek letters was very haunting. But she brushed off those memories: the pain and sorrow that was affiliated with them. She turned to face her class. She spread her hands. A strong silence rose. Before things could become awkward, she had a sudden moment of inspiration.

"Boys and girls," she said brilliantly, "we've studied the lives of tons of ancient Greek heroes in this class, haven't we?" They agreed with some murmurs and nods. "Well, as part of our new unit on demigods, I thought I would introduce the topic to you in the form of a story." The class got quite excited, for their teacher, like her teacher before her, was known throughout the school for her ability to make stories come to life in a new, realistic way, as if they were more than silly old myths.

The students watched as their teacher walked to the board and wrote something on it in marker, two words in Greek, it looked like. She then wrote a name down in English next to it. Then she set down the marker, walked around her desk to the front of the classroom, and leaned against her desk, her arms clasped in excitement.

"There once was a boy named Percy Jackson..."

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**Well, not my best work, but how much can you ****_really_**** do with Silena? She's very under appreciated in my opinion. Anyway, I still hope you liked it. Here are the shout-outs for those of you who were nice and reviewed for Chapter 15:**

**nahte 123456: I'm really sorry that you didn't like it. I really am. You're a very good reviewer/ reader, so I feel bad now. Hopefully you liked this chapter a little better! (These chapters are getting more and more difficult to do, if I'm being honest). Thanks for the review anyway. :)**

**Brittany Jackson: Thank you for reviewing, and for not absolutely hating that chapter! I don't really know a lot about speeches or bullying or anything, so hopefully Percy's "lecture" wasn't terrible. And yeah Jason is definitely not as spoiled as you might think. Maybe it's the Roman in him!**

**Cynical Chincill: Thank you for the nice review! I totally agree with you on Hephaestus and Frank: both seem very rough around the ages by their appearances, but I think they're both actually very powerful and gentle and sweet at the same time. Thanks for reviewing!**

**kiko: Yes, I do: I've considered it, and I'll just have to see how it works out. Thank you for the review.**

**kingpariah: Yay, another review from you! Thanks for always being so dedicated with your reviews; it's nice. anyway, Sally. She is probably one of my favorite characters from PJO, but there was practically NOTHING from her in HoO! I was expecting a bunch of tears and hugs from her and Paul: a nice, heart-wrenching reunion between them. Thanks a lot Rick. But thanks to YOU for your review!**

**Guest #1: Your review: simple, yet effective. :) Glad you liked it.**

**SamTheKingOfHell: Thank you! I tried to do it quickly, and hopefully it wasn't the worst chapter in the existence of all fanfiction chapters. Hopefully...**

**Brytte Mystere: Um...what?**

**ResidentOfCabin6: Thank you for the sweet review AND for your wonderful story! I will also be looking out for your next chapter.**

**stylesassy: That is genuinely the sweetest review I have ever received. Thank you SO SO much. Although I highly doubt I'm the best writer ever, I really really appreciate everything you said. And I'm glad you liked the Zoe chapter so much; honestly, it's still my favorite chapter, and the one I'm most proud of. Thank you again so much. PLEASE REVIEW AGAIN!**

**PeriwinkleFire14: Aw, thank you! I'm glad you liked it. sorry i made you hate her. :)**

**America: You requested Silena, so here you go! I'm glad you liked Chapter 15 so much; Clarisse seemed like a bully, but I think I probably exaggerated her character a lot. Oh well. :)**

**Here's the Q:**

**If you could be any character (regardless of your gender) in either series, who would you be, and why?**

**Well guys, that's all for now I guess. Thanks for reading this far. I really hope you liked it, but I'll understand if you didn't. Either way, how about leaving a review to tell me how you feel? While you're in that area, you could also click on the favorite and follow options...**

**Love to all,**

**~Princess Andromeda II**


	17. Drew

**Hello, lovely people of the world. I'm really sorry that this is a day late, but the past few days there were a bunch of REALLY bad storms where I live and power was out at my house for way too long. Be grateful for the technology, air conditioning, and other things like that that we have these days. We are all so lucky and fortunate to have them. ANYWAY: shout-outs, you know where to find them. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Please enjoy Chapter 17 of "Everyone Loves Percy"!**

**Disclaimer: If I was Rick Riordan, then I would make my new book come out faster than it is. Just kidding, he's way better than me.**

**(text from: the Lost Hero, chapter 3)**

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**Drew**

She was an outcast.

She was lonely, unloved, and unwanted. Nobody cared about her, and nobody needed her or wanted her around.

And the worst part? Drew knew it. She knew that people hated her. The things they did behind her back: calling her Drew Take-a-nap, putting on loads of makeup like she did, mimicking the way she walked, and rolling their eyes whenever she spoke.

It was like the entire world was out to get her. Drew felt like that even now, as she climbed the steps backstage and peeked out behind the red velvet curtain. The eyes of all those people out there in the audience seemed to be ready to judge her at any moment.

Somehow, even that thought was enough to make Drew want to go to the bathroom and resort to measures she'd taken in middle school; the reason she'd always stayed so skinny and "healthy" wasn't necessarily all that good for her, and was probably no better for her health than eating a bag of chips and a box of pizza. She'd done such things at moments like this, when she felt as if she was constantly being judged for being smart, despite her appearance.

And what did she do to deserve such harsh treatment? Well, she honestly didn't know. However she acted was the way she'd been raised. True, that may have not been the best upbringing, but was she really to blame?

For as long as she could remember, Drew Tanaka had loved math. She'd loved every aspect of it: algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus; you name it, she was into it. And the best part was that she was actually good at it. She excelled in school at an early age, from the time in kindergarten where she already knew her times tables up to 20 and the current day when she had just recently discovered the formula for life. She'd done all of this in secret of course; she couldn't have her spotless reputation of the head cheerleader at school and the leader of the Aphrodite cabin ruined by being pronounced a math geek.

So that's why Drew spent her nights staying up with a flashlight and the covers of her bed drawn up to write a 200-page research paper on the value of the number 2. It wasn't just that she was ashamed of her brains, (which she was), but also that there was nobody to listen to her.

First of all, her mother had been absent her entire life, so that eliminated the primary female figure present. Certainly, it was understandable, considering she was the goddess of love and all, but you'd think the lady would have enough sense to send just _one _birthday card. That would have made all the difference in the world to Drew when she was younger, but as she'd grown older and had realized that her mom would never be there for her, she'd turned completely to her dad for support.

Her dad, one of the greatest mathematical minds in the equation-development area of medical research at the time, was constantly gone from home. He would rarely be home for more than a few consecutive hours at a time, and would always be there at times when Drew should be at school or asleep. But she would always sacrifice the 5 hours of sleep or school (which she loved) just long enough to hug her father and talk to him for a few minutes before he had to be back at the airport and onto the next flight to Tokyo, Shanghai, or some place like those.

As much effort as she gave into loving her father, he rarely reciprocated the loving feelings. Why, he hadn't even bothered showing up here today, at what was possibly the biggest moment of her life so far.

Drew receded backstage and waited anxiously with the rest of the students awaiting to give their speeches. She paced back and forth nervously, chewing her dainty nails that had been manicured just for the occasion. Then she raced back to the curtain and poked her head around the side again, even though in her heart she knew that neither her mother or her father would be waiting to see their baby girl give the speech she'd been rehearsing and memorizing for so long.

And she was right. Aphrodite's gorgeous face did not appear amongst the bustling throng of eager parents. Nor did the round face, aided by wire-rimmed glasses, of Mr. Tanaka.

No surprise there.

But wait! She suddenly spotted someone she hadn't expected to see. Two someones, actually. Amongst the consistently middle-aged faces of the crowd gathered in the auditorium of the Brooklyn Academy of the Gifted, there were two lone teenage faces. One of the two was a girl with curly blond hair, and grey eyes so piercing as to be seen from here that Drew instantly knew she could be no one other than Annabeth Chase.

_But that means... _she realized with a start as she stared at the raven-haired boy, who, although she couldn't see that well, undoubtedly had a pair of gorgeous green eyes. What other boy of that description would be with Annabeth? It had to be. Yes, it was:

Percy Jackson.

Drew immediately withdrew behind the curtain, and she began to feel a sense of panic. _What are they doing here? _she wondered incredulously. They were some of the last people she would expect to come here, especially after the horrid things she'd said to Annabeth about her and Percy's friends Silena Beauregard and Piper McLean.

In truth, both Silena and Piper had been very powerful, kind, beautiful Aphrodite girls, like herself (except for the kind part). She privately admitted that she'd been a total you-know-what to both of them, but there was something about people that happy and carefree that really upset her.

Maybe it was because they were everything she _wasn't, _but through no fault of their own. The playing field had been level when they were born: all beautiful, intelligent, and powerful daughters of Aphrodite who could make the same positive impact on the world. But the moment the girls were taken home to their families, the field was no longer level. Drew didn't know much about Silena's home life other than the fact that she was from L. A., but she knew that Piper's dad was the famous actor Tristan McLean. Compare Piper's rich, handsome, and famous-for-cool-reasons dad to Drew's not-so-rich, somewhat handsome, and famous-for-boring-reasons (at least according to the rest of the world) dad, and the question as to whose life was better was obvious.

But then Drew suddenly remembered something Annabeth had once said to her when she had been yelling at Piper when she first got there. The daughter of Athena had pulled her aside and advised her to be slow about judging others. "You and Piper may have more in common than you think," she said with a certain air of distinguished wisdom.

Although Drew didn't understand the similarities at the time, she certainly could see them now: both girls: had famous, distinguished fathers that weren't around much; acted a certain way to gain attention at home; were daughters of Aphrodite (obviously); could use charmspeak; and the list went on and on.

All nice feelings aside, Drew suddenly remembered that two people she had not been expecting to show up at her speech were sitting there in the audience, and would be hearing the long lecture she'd toiled over for weeks now. And not just two nobodies either: one was Annabeth Chase, the smartest girl, like, _ever, _and the other was freakin Percy Jackson.

Just hearing his name rattle around in her brain, Drew could already feel her pale face heating up. She tried her best to fan away the anxiety, for she knew that her heavy coating of makeup would give her a rash if her skin reacted in any way at all; but it did no good. Percy Jackson had been Drew's crush since she had arrived at camp He'd been teaching sword fighting in the arena, and, when showing her how to deflect a blow with her blade, their skin had touched, and sparks had flown. He was two years older than her, but so what? It didn't matter. And, although she'd never really had a full conversation with him, she'd crushed- not quite loved, but heavily crushed- on him from afar for many, many years.

_I have to talk to him, _she realized with misplaced confidence. _Right now. Once he sees how smart I am, he'll start to like me even more. Him and Annabeth can't be serious about dating, can they? _She reassured herself with false hope that he would like her if only he talked to her.

She spotted a mirror in someone's hands, and took it away without asking. _I'll give it back_. She rushed off to the side of the stage and held up the mirror, arranging her dark ringlets perfectly around her shoulders, adding more pink eyeliner, straightening her jewelry, and dabbing on more mascara and blush until she was the pink paragon of perfection.

With the knowledge that she had ten minutes before her speech and the self-assurance that she looked fabulous, Drew raced down the steps of BAG's backstage and ran back through the doors of the auditorium. She spotted the renowned couple towards the front and rushed to them with open arms.

"PERCY!" she cried with a shrill shriek. His eyes widened and he stood up, presumably to get away, but Drew was too quick for the son of Poseidon, and she tackled him into a bear hug. She squeezed him tight, and in the midst of her vice-like grip, she realized with a sigh that he smelled (heavenly) of sea salt and peppermint.

She must have forgotten to let go from her anaconda hold on him, because he started to gasp and choke for air, saying, "Drew! Let go...I can't breathe!"

She backed away obediently, expecting to see a look of jealousy on Annabeth's face, but instead she only saw a look of cool bemusement. Drew was confused. Why wasn't she upset? The girl obviously liked her boyfriend (and with good reason), but why didn't she throw a fit when Drew made a move on him? _Maybe, _said a sing-song voice in Drew's mind, _it's because she's not threatened by you. _The daughter of Aphrodite was surprised; she was always a threat. That's how she dealt with people, like Silena and Piper, who threatened her status as #1: she became an even bigger threat and intimidated them.

"Nice to see you, Drew," said Annabeth pleasantly. "What are you doing here?" Then, as if a thought had dawned on her like the morning sun, a light went on behind her grey eyes. "Are you here to support Lacey?"

Again, Drew was confused. "Lacey? No." She never spoke much to the girl, although they did go to the same school, the same camp, and were in the same cabin. The girl was just too bothersome, and, quite frankly, too nice. "I'm giving the big speech at the end, remember?"

There was a look that passed between Percy and Annabeth, and Drew could tell it was about to get _really _awkward.

"Um," said Percy uncertainly, "we actually came here for our friend. Maybe you know her? Her name is Sadie."

"How do you know _Sadie_?" Drew stared at him with an open mouth, jaw unhinged in shock, and Percy rambled on.

"Oh, well we met her the time when we teamed up with her and her brother Carter to-" He was stopped with a painful nudge from Annabeth, an obvious sign to shut up. He rolled his eyes and said simply, "She's a friend."

"Oh, okay," said Drew, somewhat shyly. "Well, I'll see you later, I guess," she offered, backing away and heading backstage again. She was embarrassed, thinking they'd come here to see her, when it was very obvious that they weren't friends with her.

_And whose fault is that? _said the same sing-song voice from before. _Yours. _

As Drew climbed the steps and entered backstage again, she was surprised how much truth the words rang in her ears. Her conscience, no matter how annoying or creepy it was, was right. The fact that she had no friends _was _her fault. She was always so mean to everybody for no good reason at all. If she wasn't trying to get some guy to fall in love with her or crushing hard on him, then she was wrecking his life and making him miserable. And if a girl wasn't in her clique at school (who she knew were called the "Plastic Bags" by others) or in the Aphrodite cabin, then Drew felt threatened or disgusted by her and acted like a bitch to her.

Drew suddenly knew that she could only place so much blame on her parents and her home life before it stopped being true. In the end, everything she did or said came down to who she was as a person, and, upon further reflection, Drew realized that she didn't like that side of herself very much.

_So, why not change? _asked the same annoying conscience. _Today is the perfect day. _Drew totally agreed. She needed a fresh start, and graduation was the perfect route to take. This summer at camp and the years to come at Harvey Mudd College (which was a fantastic school in Claremont, California for math-minded majors), she would be a totally new person.

"Miss Tanaka!" cried a teacher from nearby, holding a clipboard. "You're up next!"

She nodded and waited for her name to be called by the principal on the other side of the curtain. When he said her name, she parted the velvet curtains on either side of her and walked up to the podium. A spotlight was glaring in her face, and the crowd before her had dozens of video cameras and phones trained on her at that moment, parents no doubt recording the entire graduation for their kids.

Drew looked at all of the people seated in front of her. She saw the teachers, who had spent countless hours making sure that she and everyone else got to this day. She saw the friends and family in the audience, and Percy and Annabeth looking at her with wide eyes. She saw the graduates in their gowns, looking up at her with expectant faces, Sadie and Lacey among them. Lacey even waved when she saw her. Drew smiled, and it was the first sincere smile that had graced her face in years.

"Hello everyone," she said. "My name is Drew Tanaka, and I am your valedictorian this year..."

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**K, well, I hope you liked it. I don't know how I feel about this chapter. Why don't you tell me in a review? PLEASE! Review rate was a little down last chapter, but hopefully we can get it back up again for this chapter. Here are the shout-outs for those who reviewed last chapter. Thank you to:**

**kingpariah: Thanks for the endless feedback and support, as always. Also I love your indecision for the question; it made me laugh. :) Thanks again. **

**ZoeandArtyawesomelover: Whoa, your name is a mouthful isn't it? :D Anyway thanks for reviewing. Silena is so sweet but she's very underrated in the books. I'm glad you liked the chapter!**

**nahte123456: Hi again. I'm really glad you liked the Silena chapter. It was kind of fun to write, but also a little sad too. And yeah I can already tell that this story doesn't have many chapters left. To be honest, after this chapter there will probably only be 3 more. I'm a little sad about ending it, but it has to end sometime, and this way I can just move on to other stories! Thanks for all the great reviews, I love reading them.**

**Cynical Chinchil: hello. :) I'm always happy that my story can make you procrastinate whatever you're doing long enough to read the next chapter. Really, that makes me unreasonably happy. Thanks for all the really nice reviews.**

**Guest #1: Thanks, I'm glad you like it!**

**Brittany Jackson: Thanks for making YOU smile? Girl I love reading your reviews and they just brighten my day so thank YOU for being such a great friend and reader/reviewer. Feel free to keep those reviews coming. :) **

**America: Thank you for the really nice reviews. They're so sweet. And I'm so glad you like the last chapter! Silena x Charlie forever!**

**PeriwinkleFire14: Here's that update you wanted. It makes me SO happy that you like this story. It really does. Thanks for all the great though somewhat demanding ( :D ) reviews.**

**Well that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Here is the question:**

**Which side (version) of the gods do you like better: Greek or Roman?**

**Please answer the question in a review! Please! Every single review, favorite, and follow makes my day so much better. MAKE MY DAY BETTER. Just kidding but please do. ****Thank you for your constant love and support.**

**With all the love,**

**~Princess Andromeda II**


	18. Piper

**Hello, beautiful/ handsome people everywhere. I am so, so, **_**so **_**incredibly sorry for my procrastination. I've been insanely busy, to the point where I literally had NO time whatsoever to even write a few sentences; I don't know how my schedule got like this. I guess it's just school, band, friends, family: Life, pretty much. But I came home today from school, had NOTHING to do, and I wrote this in two hours. I know it's been like three weeks since my last update, and trust me, I feel terrible about it: it's been eating me up inside every day since my last update, and I've pretty much thought about nothing but this. But, despite my absence, you guys kept following, favoriting, and reviewing anyway, to which I am so incredibly grateful. You guys and everything you do just makes my day. I'm the worst, and you guys are the best. I love you all so, so much. So thank you immensely! **

**As a small side note, I somewhat struggled with writing the last couple chapters, but I realized why while writing this: I was trying to please too many people. As much as you guys and your opinions matter to me, I write for me, and me alone. That's what it comes down to in the end. That's the way it was before I published my stories, and that's how it should remain. When a time comes where you're dreading an update because you're not happy with your work and what you've done, something is wrong. I would still be super glad for your reviews and suggestions, but from now on I can't promise to do everything.**

**Anyway, thank you all for the patient waiting (all except for that one incredibly rude person, who I will address down in the review section below -it's the last review, for those who care enough to see someone get chewed out, LOL). Here you go, my wonderful readers! Please enjoy Chapter 18 (finally) of "Everyone Loves Percy"!**

**Disclaimer: I'm angry with myself for my updating skills and for not being Rick Riordan.**

**(text from: the Mark of Athena, chapter 5)**

* * *

**Piper**

Every girl has a dream guy.

A dream guy, for those who don't understand, being the perfect boyfriend that a girl imagines. The guy could be regarded for his brains, his looks, his body, his humor, or something else, but most likely it's a combination of all of those. So, obviously finding a huge brain, a fantastic face, a funny bone, rock-hard abs and a six-pack all wrapped up in one package of a boy is a little difficult.

But that's what makes him a _dream _guy, isn't it? The idea is that the guy is literally something, or someone, from your dreams, and is therefore utterly unattainable and nonexistent. So, naturally, pining after someone who doesn't exist your entire life is fairly unhealthy, and could ruin the chances of many girls if they kept up those foolish thoughts. Nobody's perfect, after all.

So most girls probably stop thinking about, or at least completely obsessing over, the idea of a perfect dream guy before they get too old. Most will retain the notion up until the age of 15 or 16, when they wise up to the way the world works.

But not Piper.

Piper McLean was still holding out for her perfect guy. Sure, she'd dated around every so once and a while, and she'd been dating Jason Grace for quite a while now. Maybe that made it seem like a serious relationship, but she didn't view it that way.

Don't get it wrong: she was crazy about Jason, and she really did care for him. And why not? He was smart, and quite enjoyed challenging math problems (as much as she cared about him, she couldn't share his interest in math). He was serious most of the time, but every so once in a while he would crack a joke. He was physically fit- _very _nicely- and exercised daily, practicing archery, sword fighting, completing the rock wall, running long distances to build his endurance, lifting weights in the gym...It all paid off very well for Jason's physical demeanor. Not to mention the fact that he was very attractive; everywhere they went, Piper caught other girls sneaking glances at her boyfriend, whether it was surreptitious or blatantly obvious. Even with his new glasses, Jason Grace was a stud.

In many ways, Jason was one of _those _dream guys that every girl dreamed about. His nickname was Superman, for crying out loud! Who wouldn't consider Jason perfect? He had everything you could possibly want. He was perfect.

But only from the outside.

Truth be told, Piper and Jason were facing some problems in their relationship. Maybe it was only Piper who felt that way, but there were definitely some issues lately.

Jason had been...different lately: distracted, distant, and anxious. At first Piper had thought it was just stress: after all, who wouldn't be able to withstand that much pressure without a few side effects? Jason was the only known son of Jupiter, one of the Seven, and a leader at both Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter.

But Piper felt pressure too. After all, being the girlfriend of Jason Grace, the original Mr. Perfect, wasn't the easiest job in the world. She had to go places with him as his second, supporting him in meetings at camp and with the gods. She had to stay strong when every girl they passed on the street stared at Jason in awe and amazement while glaring at her with hate and jealousy. _Every _girl. Plus, there was the whole "Reyna situation". Sure, Reyna and Piper were friends- really good friends, actually- but a girl couldn't be best friends with the girl who used to date her boyfriend without the relationship having some sort of awkwardness at times. Reyna claimed she had moved on, but Piper wasn't so sure. The girl had gotten her heart broken _twice_, both times to discover that the boy she'd been in love with already had a girlfriend. The first boy was Jason, obviously, and the second boy was Percy Jackson.

Even thinking about his name sent shivers up Piper's spine. She hated herself for doing it, but she couldn't control her emotions and what they did to her. And Piper couldn't deny her feelings any more.

Recently, her emotions had been out of control. Her heart raced whenever she saw Percy, and she lit up inside whenever he laughed, tossed his hair, or caused crinkles to form around his eyes when he smiled, just like his father. And when she saw Percy and Annabeth together? Forget it. She couldn't stand it. Annabeth was just the right height so that she could tilt her head into the crook of Percy's neck, and he could rest his onto hers and kiss her hair lovingly. They hugged each other with expertise, like they'd been doing it for years (which Piper supposed they had). And when they kissed? Well... she didn't even want to think about it.

She recalled how she'd felt about it when they were on their quest aboard the Argo II:

_They were so easy together, it made Piper's heart ache. Jason was great, of course. But sometimes he acted so distant... Piper wondered if she would ever be able to break through that barrier._

The point was, the way they fit together was just so..._perfect._ It was infuriating in an endearing way: the ideal couple everyone wanted to be like. It was maddening, considering Piper was used to being called the perfect one, especially paired with Mr. Perfect, a.k.a. Jason Grace.

Percy and Annabeth, Annabeth and Percy; either way it sounded good. And they had a great ship name too! Percabeth. It just sounded so good. So right.

The truth was, Piper hated herself for feeling these things. Absolutely _hated _herself for it. Annabeth was her best friend in the whole world, the closest friend she'd ever had, in fact. Those nights they'd lain awake on the Argo II, just talking- _really _talking- had brought them so close together, and then it had been almost impossible for them not to bond even more after they went on such a trying quest together. They trusted each other so much now, and Annabeth would be crestfallen, so heartbroken, if she knew Piper felt this way. Percy was _her _man, and that was it.

But let's not forget about Jason: think about how he would feel if he knew Piper's feelings had shifted from him to Percy. She could just imagine his hurt expression, like a puppy who just realized he'd been run over by a big semi-trailer truck. He'd stare at her with those big blue eyes in utter shock, no pun intended. First he'd be angry, for sure, and his fingertips would crackle with electricity, traces of purple lightning dancing behind his eyes in fury. But then he would get over it, and just be heartbroken. Like Annabeth.

So feeling these things about Percy would hurt not only Annabeth, her best friend in the entire world, Jason, her wonderful boyfriend, but also, more than likely, herself.

Piper didn't want to think about how much more emotionally screwed up she'd be if she let her emotions take control of her. _But how much more screwed up can I really feel? _she asked silently as she made her way to the arena. At the moment, she was headed to swordfighting arena to practice- you guessed it- swordfighting.

That's right. Apparently, the world and, more importantly, Camp Half-Blood continues to go on even if you're feeling like a big ball of poop on the inside. They don't care about problems that you're dealing with. No matter what, everyone still has to get up out of bed, and go do their same old monotonous tasks. That had literally been the case for Piper today: she had felt so guilty and torn up inside that she'd wanted to just go to sleep and pronounce to the world that she was bed-ridden for the day, but she wasn't able to do that. Still, she'd managed to drag her feet in defiance and take her time getting ready for practice, which had felt satisfying at first, but now only made her day worse as she realized with a look at her pink wristwatch just how late she was.

_Crap, _she thought as she sped up the pace. The prospect of going to practice just got ten times worse than it had been.

Normally, Piper _loved _swordfighting. But today, she had to swordfight with other people her age, which wouldn't be so bad if she didn't have to face three certain people involved with her personal problems, one green-eyed son of Poseidon in particular.

With a sigh that could doubtless be heard all the way down in Tartarus, Piper threw open the heavy oak doors of the arena and marched in, her head held high and the blade of her sword resting comfortably on her left shoulder.

Yes, you heard right: Piper had a sword, not a knife. Since this was _sword_fighting, Piper figured a sword would be better to use than Katropis. She still had the prophecy knife; in fact, it was attached to her belt loop right now. This new sword was one she'd picked up out of the weapons room: a gladius, she thought it was. She shifted the sword around in her hand, and found that it was very uncomfortable to hold. Swinging it around, she felt the effect likewise. It felt unbalanced and heavy in her hands. Oddly out of place. _Like me, _she thought with dismay. _I shouldn't be here. I don't belong to be around great demigods like these. _

Glancing up from her momentary sadness, she saw that all the other campers in the Senior Camper group- those between the age of 16 and 18- were already gathering in a somewhat organized circle in the center of the arena. In all there were probably between twenty five and thirty campers. Around the formation she saw Katie Gardner, Connor and Travis Stoll, Will Solace and Nico di Angelo, Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang, Leo Valdez, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, and many others. Off to her left she saw Annabeth give her a friendly wave and a stunning smile.

Piper waved back, though she felt guilty just doing that. _If only you knew what I'm feeling, I bet you wouldn't be that friendly..._she thought with dismay and grief. She was dragged out of her thoughts by someone tapping her on her right elbow. She turned and her heart dropped at who she saw.

"Jason!" she cried, a lot louder than she should have. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment when a few people turned to look at her. _Oops, _she thought.

"Piper," said her boyfriend, a look of concern etched on his face, "where were you? You're late. I was worried about you."

She sighed, and was about to explain, when suddenly the instructor in the middle shouted at them to pair up with someone. Without taking her eyes from the son of Jupiter's face, she whispered simply, "I overslept." None too soon, for saw Leo grab Jason and ask him to be his partner.

She was secretly glad, since it meant she wouldn't half to talk to him more and bring up any awkward conversations. But when she saw that everyone else in the circle was already paired up and that there was only one person left, she instantly wished she'd been paired up with Jason. That would have been ten times better than the person she was stuck with:

Percy Freakin Jackson.

"Hey Piper!" he said with a blinding smile. "Looks like we're partners!"

She let out a small noise that sounded like "eep!" and then they dove right into it: parries, thrusts, advances, fades, pivots, lunges... They were all part of the workout.

"Hey, you're pretty good at this!" said Percy, the pleasant surprise evident on his face.

Piper was stunned by what an excellent swordfighter Percy was. Sure, she'd seen him fight before; multiple times, actually. But she'd never really _watched _him while he did. She was usually too distracted by saving her own butt and dealing with some insane monster to stop and take a popcorn break.

But now, when she had the time, Piper noticed how he did it with such expertise. I mean, his muscles _rippled _when he moved_. _Most people, and quite a few gods, had admitted that Percy was the best swordsman at camp, possibly the best at the time, and definitely one of the most powerful demigods out there. Even Nico di Angelo, who rarely seemed to talk or radiate any emotion whatsoever, had said that Percy was the most powerful demigod he'd ever met. Piper again recalled the way she'd felt on their quest: _After hearing so much at Camp Half-Blood about Percy Jackson _this _and Percy Jackson _that, _she thought he looked...well, unimpressive, especially next to Jason. Percy was more slender, about an inch shorter, with slightly longer, much darker hair. He wasn't really Piper's type._

Piper stopped concentrating on sword fighting long enough to think, _Did I really feel that way?! _before she was knocked off of her feet by Percy. She lay on the ground for a moment, the wind knocked out of her, just staring at the sky, not even bothering to move or close her eyes to shut out the harsh, brilliant light of the sun boring into her kaleidoscope eyes.

There had actually been a time when she hadn't found Percy Jackson attractive. She'd thought he was _unimpressive. _She'd even said he wasn't her type! Her thoughts were even more conflicted now than they'd been earlier today, so she felt sick to her stomach when a shadow passed overhead, blocking out the blinding sun.

"Here Piper, let me help you up," said Percy as he extended a rough, tan hand towards her. She accepted, but even that felt wrong somehow. He saw her face contracting in ugly spasms, and asked with worry plain on his face, "Are you alright?"

That was it. The floodgates opened with those three simple words, and the water poured out of her eyes.

"Whoa- what?" exclaimed Percy in surprise, as he backed away uncertainly. Tears streamed down her face, and would have caused her mascara to run if she'd been wearing any (bonus of being a daughter of Aphrodite). She bawled her eyes out, her eyes forcing themselves shut. It wouldn't have mattered anyway; there were so many tears, she couldn't have seen anything. She was certain she was attracting plenty of attention, since the usual clatter of swords and shields had ceased in a dead silence. But she didn't care. She just didn't care anymore. She was so tired of keeping these dreadful, ugly emotions to herself that she had to let it out somehow, and this was the way it would have to be. This was her punishment.

Suddenly, Piper felt a set of hands grasping her arms on either side, pulling her forward. She didn't even bother removing her hands from her wet face; she just walked forward obediently, allowing whoever was steering her to navigate their way through the arena to wherever they were going.

After a few moments, Piper heard a door shut, a shout from far away, and suddenly the normal noises of sword fighting practice were back, assuming their usual cacophony of clatters and clangs. The sounds seemed to come from a distance, on the other side of some immense object. Piper guessed that she and the other person were on the outside of the arena.

"It's alright now, Piper," the person said gently: a girl's voice, which she recognized. "We're outside. We're alone. Let's talk." Annabeth.

Piper removed her hands from her face. Her friend was gazing at her in a steady gaze of expectancy. She knew her friend cared about her as much as she did. The concern was everywhere on her tan face: in the crease lines on her forehead, her furrowed eyebrows, her pursed pink lips, and especially her intense grey eyes. She didn't bat an eye while Piper tried to stop her crying long enough to get out some words.

"Annabeth, I've got something to tell you, and this is going to be really hard for me, but I figure it will just be better to go ahead and get it over with, so I'm just going to say it, alright?" The daughter of Athena nodded slowly. Piper took a deep, shaky breath and closed her eyes. "I think...I think I have a crush on Percy. Like, a big one. I might even love him," she said with a terrifying realization, one she hadn't thought of before. The thought was even more horrible and terrible than she'd imagined. She looked at her friend, afraid of her reaction, and was astonished when the blonde started laughing.

Piper stared at her in stunned silence for a moment, before finally asking, "Um...what's so funny?"

The daughter of Athena was still keeled over from her laughing fit, her shoulders literally shaking from the effort of trying to stop. She finally did stop, and she took long, gasping breaths while wiping her eyes before answering. "Oh, I'm sorry Piper. It's not you, don't worry. I just feel so bad for you!" She must have noticed her friend's confused expression, because she quickly continued. "What I mean is, you feel terrible for feeling this way, but I promise it's totally normal. First of all, this is Percy we're talking about. The guy who has attracted dozens of girls without even noticing. Is this really what's been eating you up all this time?" she asked, to which Piper replied with a nod. "I thought so. No offense, but this was bound to happen at some point. No need to worry though. You're not in love with Percy, and you probably don't even have a real crush on him.

"What you've got, my friend, is the seven-month itch." Piper looked puzzled, so Annabeth continued. "Ever heard of the seven-year itch? Marilyn Monroe was in a movie of the same title. The idea is that adults, after seven years, traditionally, of being married, one spouse or the other starts to get antsy and discontent, and starts to look at other people. Anyway, it's the same concept. Usually teenagers get the same way after seven months of dating. I mean, seven months is a long time to be together, right? So it's normal to feel like this. I bet Jason's been feeling this way too. Have you been experiencing some trouble in your relationship lately?" Piper nodded trustingly, and Annabeth gave her a reassuring smile. "Yep, that'd be why. You two should talk about this. Be honest with each other. In fact," she said with a smile, looking over Piper's shoulder, "here comes Mr. Perfect now. Why don't you two spend some time together to talk things over?" she asked, while walking away.

Piper turned around in time to see Jason bursting out of the arena door and sprinting towards her as fast as he could. When he passed Annabeth, who was walking in a leisurely stroll, Piper heard the daughter of Athena murmur to the son of Jupiter, "She's all yours, Sparky."

Jason didn't even stop long enough to respond before pulling Piper into a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, Piper, are you okay?!" he half exclaimed, half asked. "When you were in there...and you were crying, and they wouldn't let us, I mean, me, come talk to you...and you were crying, and, and...oh, sorry, am I crushing you?" he asked finally, backing off. He pulled back and grabbed her shoulders tenderly. "Seriously though, are you okay?"

Piper studied Jason's face carefully. She could see it in his eyes, in his body language, in his face, everywhere, that he really cared about her. Sure, they might have been going through some rough patches lately, but they loved each other, and that was all that really mattered. Everything else was just a small, unimportant bump in the road. Hell, they'd fought monsters, Titans, gods and goddesses, and other demigods. They could work through anything now.

"I'm fine, Jason. And I think _we _will be too."

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**Thanks everyone for reading this. I really really hope you liked this chapter! Here are the acknowledgements for the reviews from the last chapter:**

**ZoeandArtyawesomelover: Wow, that's kinda deep, isn't it? The whole "'female dog' on the inside and outside" stuff. But I like it. Do more! Jk. Thanks so much for your review.**

**SoulHorse: I know right?! I would love if Drew was actually like that. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if Rick Riordan was actually a fanfic author on here...Thanks for reviewing!**

**nahte123456: Hi again! I'm glad you liked the idea behind the last chapter, it was honestly kind of hard to write. Please review again! (I always really look forward to your reviews.)**

**Wade98: Yeah, geeky Drew is kind of sweet or endearing or whatever. I like her that way. Thanks for the review.**

**RoboMonkey101: Hello friend. :) Feel free to use that idea, or any idea as a matter of fact, whenever and however you like. I'd be honored! Thank you, as always, for your fantastic and nice reviews. I really love them (AND your story! Let's get some updates please! Although I can't really complain, can I? :D) **

**kingpariah: Yay another review from you! I know what you mean about Drew; she's made into a monster, but the only real monsters in the series are, well, the monsters. She's just a confused demigod IMO. thanks for the review, and for answering the question in such detail, like always. :)**

**Brittany Jackson: IKR! I feel like we're really good friends, but, unfortunately, doesn't have a thing where people can "meet" each other. But wouldn't that be a great idea? Like a video/ camera setting or something? I wish. Anyway, thanks for your incredibly sweet review. PLEASE review! **

**Cynical Chinchil: Hey thanks for reviewing again! Your reviews always make me laugh, especially this one. I'm glad you liked the chapter. (also so cool about your brother's friend and harvey mudd and stuff!) I look forward to the review that you (hopefully) leave for this chapter. **

**SamTheKingOfHell: Thanks, I feel like people like that are actually just people who don't apply themselves as much as they could. They're probably pretty insecure on the inside, like Drew. But I'm glad you liked it! Please review again.**

**aloha: Hi! Well, if you've been reading it ever since it has come out, I'm glad you finally reviewed, and I hope you've enjoyed the majority of it so far (sadly, it's almost over). I took your suggestion into account, especially since you seem to actually care about it, and I tried to incorporate it into the story as much as possible. Sorry if I failed! :) Hope you liked this chapter, and decide to review again.**

**Firefrost143: Hey there FF143. I like your name, BTW. :) Also, I'm really glad you liked the last chapter. Thanks so so much for your review, and for answering the question (good answer :D). I hope you review again! :)**

**Jennn: I equally look forward to and dread your reviews, because I know they'll be really long, in-depth, and detailed, but at the same time very critical. I like it though. Glad to see you're back from your other fandom (spelled with an F). I'm sorry if you haven't been enjoying my chapters. I truly am. Unfortunately, there's only so much I can change, and only so many people I can satisfy. (See the full rant at the top if you want to.) I know the girl for this chapter might have spewed out another "predictable cut-out", as you said, but I'm sorry. These stories are probably going to be fairly predictable. I mean, I'm not differing from the series' plot and making any girl other than Annabeth end up with Percy. It's been that way from the beginning. But the point is not to strive for different ends in each, but different middle parts to the plot. We all know how each chapter will end, but it's what happens in the middle of the plot that counts. Thank you for all of your well-thought-out reviews and suggestions. I hope to see you again in the review list for this chapter.**

**PeriwinkleFire14: LOL here's that review you asked for. Am I fast or what? :) Seriously tho thanks for reviewing like always; I really do appreciate it. Review again!**

**America: lovely review, as always. i love forward to your reviews so much, they're just so sweet and nice. Please review again (pretty please?)**

**Hate This Story: WOW. I have never, ever, EVER received such a rude, disrespectful, and utterly immature review before. You think that you can come onto this website and act like that? The answer is that yes, you can technically, but you should never act like that, no matter how you may feel. You do not rip apart someone's work like that. You do not rip apart someone's writing like that. Telling me that this is a terrible story? That I'm a terrible writer? That I should just STOP writing altogether? NO, I don't think so. I have no idea what made you choose to write that review: if you were having a bad day, or if you just act like that all the time, but either way, don't you dare ever do something like that again. The people on this site, including myself, do not deserve so much hate. And FYI, this site is not for "good writers to exhibit their work to others and get complimented for it"! This is a site where anyone who loves reading and writing can come and share their work, regardless of if it's good or not. I DO NOT CARE if you hate the story. You don't say that kind of thing. It's disregardful of other people's emotions (and you won't get any better reaction than this out of me; I'm happy with this story and I won't stoop to your level). And, to add fire to the flame, you reviewed as a GUEST. That shows how incredibly afraid you are of people judging you for your vicious thoughts (which they should). You are a coward, and you need to get your act together. The next time that you review for my story (if ever), please do so in a mature manner, one that I can actually respect. That said, HAVE A GREAT DAY!**

**Whew. Now that THAT's done, onto the question for this chapter:**

**If there could be a PJO/HoO crossover with ANY series, what would it be and why? (My bet is most of you say Harry Potter).**

**Well, that's all for now! Thank you immensely to all who favorited, followed, reviewed KINDLY, and waited patiently for this chapter. You are the reason I publish my stories. Thank you so so much, all of you!**

**Love to you all,**

**~Princess Andromeda II**


	19. Hazel

**Hi guys! So, I have dutifully updated today, and I'm honestly really excited for you guys to read this chapter. It took up a full 6 pages on my Word document, and I sincerely hope you like it. Sad news though: next chapter is the last chapter. I'm very sad about it, but I feel that 20 chapters is a good place to stop. Hopefully everyone will be sure to read next chapter and review a lot! ****But I'll save the toasts and long speeches for next chapter. For now, here's Chapter 19 of "Everyone Loves Percy"!**

**Disclaimer: This fandom belongs to Rick Riordan, but this chapter's plot is mine, MINE! All mine...*creepy laughing***

**(text from: the Mark of Athena, chapter 22)**

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**Hazel**

"I swear by the gods that when I catch you I'll feed your insides to the crows!"

That was the last thing she heard before she disappeared around the side of the alley, the waning light of day causing the already-dark street to be filled with dancing shadows, like fleeting ghosts that came out only at night. ducking into the doorway of a small shop and rushing in as fast as she could. She closed the door behind her with a slam, leaning against it with all her weight and praying silently that they wouldn't follow her in here.

Hazel couldn't help but breathe a semi-audible sigh of relief as she looked out a small rounded window to her left and spotted the mob of boys running past the shop without any hesitation. But the feeling of safety didn't last long: the alley was a dead-end after that, so the boys all came to a sudden halt, bumping into each other in a somewhat comical manner. It was like a scene in the old cartoons she'd seen she was younger, going to the movie theatre in the 1930's and 40's to see animated shorts that had been new and ground-breaking at the time, like the early Mickey Mouse cartoons.

The group of boys, seeing that Hazel was obviously not any place visible in the alley, split up into smaller parties to search for her, their leader telling some to go check in the shops across the alley pavement, and others to check the side including the shop Hazel was in. Upon seeing this, she growled in frustration and drew back from the door, running into the middle of the store and inspecting it for a hiding place.

The store didn't appear to be much to look at: the room she was currently in was lined by tan wallpaper, with a hint of a dull lavender color, which was peeling in so many places that there appeared to be more bare wall exposed than any remnants of the once-fashionably-perceived hue. And, from the dozens of racks of thick furs coats and faded, feathered hats, it was evidently a women's clothing store. _Must sell clothes for old ladies, _Hazel thought with disdain as she passed over the excessively gaudy jewelry, coats, boas, hats, and other atrocious apparel and accessories. Dusty light filtered in lazily from the round windows on either side of the heavy, rotting oak door, the light casting deeper shadows as early evening passed through the arms of sunset and greeted dusk. From the looks of the place and its location in New Rome, the store didn't see much business anymore, if it ever had.

Suddenly, there was a tremendous bang from the side of the room, a thunderous and impatient knocking on the door. Hazel turned to stare at the door with a start.

"Open up!" someone shouted. Octavian.

_Yeah right, _she thought with malice. _Like I'm going to open the door for the person who's trying to get me, like, "Oh! You want to beat me up? Sure, I'll help you with that! Come on in!"_

"Open up, Hazel!" Octavian repeated. "We know you're in there." After he said that, the easy light shining in from the street through the windows was suddenly eclipsed by a group of young men, most a few years older than her, wearing clean white bed sheets as togas over assorted colored T-shirts. Each held two items in his hands: a knife in one, and a stuffed animal of some sort in the other. The sight of twenty or so teenage guys dressed in bed sheets standing there, staring at her while holding stuffed animals was equal parts silly and scary. At the moment, while her safety was in jeopardy, Hazel was going to go with scary.

One of the boys pointed at Hazel with his knife, then to the stuffed elephant he was holding, right before he slit the animal across its stomach with the pointed end, creating a gash that let a mess of stuffed cottonball intestines tumble out. _Yep, _she decided. _Definitely scary._

But why should she worry? The door was holding the weight of Octavian's heavy pounding just fine...until it wasn't, and his fist broke through the wood.

_Crap._

Luckily for Octavian and not-so-luckily for Hazel, he had punched a hole through the wood right above the door knob, so all he had to do to again was to reach down, turn the lock, and open the door. Easy peasy. But not for her.

She ran frantically through the store, crashing into and knocking over several racks as she receded into the back, her thoughts scattered and detached, making her very clumsy and dysfunctional. On any other given day, Hazel, being the kind person that she was, would have stopped and picked up the racks, but this was obviously neither the time nor the place for that.

At this point, one may finally begin to wonder what Hazel Levesque, the kind, loving, and sweet 14-year old girl who had never done anything intentionally to hurt another mortal or demigod in her life. And now she was being chased throughout the city by a mob of rowdy teenage guys, who were so stereotypically outraged that they might as well be carrying pitchforks and flaming torches (although it was in the middle of the day...) So what had the daughter of Pluto done to deserve such a punishment?

Well, for starters, just that: _being _a daughter of Pluto. Apparently that was a crime in Octavian's opinion.

But what did he know? He was the same guy who made a living off of slitting stuffed animals' throats for a living and then "reading" the entrails, assessing how they could be divine messages from the gods. Yeah right.

Still, he did seem to have a lot of say in what went on. He'd recently declared in front of the Senate that any child born of "the Big Three" (to put it in Greek terms) was unsafe to have around. They were loose cannons, he'd stated. Wild. Untrustworthy. Undependable. Dangerous. He'd also added, just to stir up the Senators, that they were powerful enough and had enough influence at camp to take the Senate seats by force. It hadn't been long after that that a whole group of Senators and Centurions had raced to rally behind Octavian as he'd vowed to lead a manhunt throughout camp until he gathered every last son and daughter of Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto until they were all captured and could be locked away somewhere far away from the Senate or outside of Camp Jupiter.

So, naturally, Hazel was on the run now.

As she ran madly through the old lady clothing store, she realized it was a shotgun house, like one that she'd seen a lot of back in the 40's, growing up in New Orleans. If she remembered correctly, she could even recall living in one for a brief while when she was very, very young. They were interesting homes: one room lined up directly behind another like soldiers in a military formation, so that if one were to stand in the room in the front, he could shoot a gun pointed at the back of the house, and the bullet would (theoretically) travel to the very last room.

As she ran, Hazel counted the rooms: one, the front room with all the clothing racks; two, more old clothes and ugly wallpaper, but uglier because there were wet water stains seeping across it; three, a storage room filled to the ceiling with towering stacks of cardboard boxes, all neatly labeled in scribbled handwriting; and finally the fourth one, a dusty old office, it seemed.  
One might be wondering why Octavian possessed the power to do such a thing as start the next Salem Witch Trials, but to be fair, there wasn't much that could have been done: at some point in the Giant War with Gaea, Octavian had gotten...snagged on one of the cannons, and had been blasted into the air, landing somewhere unimportant. Although the fall had looked fatal, somehow Octavian had survived it. Maybe Apollo had pitied him or something. Although he hadn't died, he had hit the ground fairly hard, but fortunately (or unfortunately) the injuries had been mostly on the outer layer, just minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises, and it had only taken a year and a half for Octavian to get back to his usually horrible self.l But in any case, he had stumbled back to Camp Jupiter after the war was over, threatening to sue the camp (however that works) if they didn't give him back his old position as Augur, accusing them of trying to kill him so someone else could take his position. "Prophecy is a dangerous game!" he'd cried in outrage. Needless to say, he had been handed back his old job, and was in charge for the weekend while the praetors Reyna Ramirez and Frank Zhang, Hazel's boyfriend, were out of town on official business meeting with the leaders of Camp Half-Blood. Not very long, but still:

One weekend was all it took for Octavian to badly screw things up.

Things would have been different if there were more people around. But it was summer in San Francisco, California, a.k.a. Quest Season, so a lot of the more powerful demigods were out and about. Thalia Grace was unplaceable as ever, somewhere in the world with the other Hunters of Artemis, but gods know where she was (all that really mattered was that she wasn't _here_). Jason, her brother, was still safe halfway across the country (the lucky devil) at Camp Half-Blood with Piper. Hazel's brother Nico was there too. Percy had told Hazel earlier today that he planned to spend the day in New Rome with Annabeth, looking for a good college and an apartment. She was glad about that: although Percy was a son of Poseidon and technically not related to Neptune, Octavian most likely would have pursued him anyway; he didn't seem like the type of person who really cared to dwell on technicalities.

Hazel knew there were a few other children of the Big Roman Three here here at camp, but for now they were probably either safely in New Rome, outside of the city, or on some minor quest. _Wow, _Hazel thought as she slipped into the fourth and final room of the store. _That's the first time it's been considered _safe _to go on a quest._

Hazel was violently snapped out of her thoughts by a loud banging and a lot of cursing from the front room, the room she'd entered in on with all the clothing racks. She smiled, knowing that the blundering idiots had probably tripped over one of the racks she'd knocked down. "In here!" someone called, his voice now in the second room, the one with all the drip stains. Only one room, the storage room, left to go.

Panic finally started to course through her veins.

First, she ran with lightning speed into the storage room, knocking down as many cardboard boxes as possible. She didn't even bother trying to be quiet as the pillars toppled and there was tremendous crashing all around. Thankfully, most of the boxes fell in front of the door between the second-to-third-room door, blocking Octavian and his followers' entrance into the last two rooms momentarily. She raced back into the last room, satisfied with the tough obstacle course she knew they'd have to navigate if they wanted to reach her.

She slammed the last door behind her, locking the behind her and hearing it rattle in protest. Searching frantically for a hiding space, she spied a heavy wooden desk, covered in dust an inch thick, standing in the center of the room. The rest of the room was lined by a tall bookshelves and filing cabinets, although there were also three rooms in the north, east, and west.

_Well, not many hiding places_, she thought with dismay as she looked at the humble desk before her, _but it will have to do. _She figured that if she was going to go down, she might as well fight til the very end, resisting as much as she could before they captured her and sent her somewhere terrible.

Hazel slid under the desk with easy caution, doing her best to avoid all the filth, and sat patiently. All she could hear was the hammering of the mob on the door- apparently they'd woven through her maze of boxes after all- and the hammering of her heart against her chest.

_Why did this have to happen to me? _she wondered sadly. _Why me?... _In that moment all was still. Her heart had not slowed down, but she couldn't feel it. The blood was surely racing through her veins, but she couldn't tell. The mob of boys had stopped beating on the door for some reason, but she didn't care. Let them take her, for all she cared. The only sound at that moment would have been the miniscule tear sliding down Hazel's cheek, so quiet was it in that second that one would have actually been able to hear the drop streaking down her face.

All was quiet...

And then it wasn't.

The world around Hazel Levesque exploded into noise: the door to the office was shattered to pieces, making instant woodchips, as the throng of Hazel Hunters hit it with all their might. They fell into the room, hooting and hollering in triumph but also taking a moment to spot her hiding spot since they were slightly dizzy from all the pounding. The window to the left of Hazel, the one that face west, exploded into a firework of glass, the sound so loud and shattering that it felt like a sting to her ears.

Then the terrifying cacophony of background sounds that Hazel had heard but not seen subsided and ceased altogether. Yet somehow there was still one noise there: stunned silence.

Hazel dared to peak out from her hiding place long enough to see what was happening, and she gasped in surprise: standing against the blinding rays of the lazy setting sun was a figure, broad in the shoulders and long in height. His (Hazel determined the figure was a male from his body stance and noticeable biceps) face was not discernable in the sunlight streaming around him, but she could see the outline of him perfectly: well-toned body, fighting stance, sword in hand, arms at side but tensed. He was an enigma in that way: Hazel could see all around him, but not the front of him; she could see him, but not _him_; he was a shadow of darkness crowned in a sun of light. It was rather an awesome scene, in the most literal sense of the word.

But she no longer had time to study the figure like the single second she'd been able to do so, for he pitched forward suddenly and raced to her side. She was momentarily afraid of him, and cowered under the desk, but she opened her eyes wide when she heard him speak.

"Hazel," he said. "Hazel, it's me. It's Percy."

She turned her head toward him in surprise. "Percy? What are you doing here? I thought you were in New Rome with Annabeth."

He nodded. "I was, but I found out about Octavian's manhunt after a bit of a scuffle with some of his goons that involved a rubber band, a bottle cap, and some deodorant. Let's just not talk about it, okay?"

She didn't even have time to nod before there was another interruption. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" A shrill voice cried, causing Hazel to turn and face the boy who was pushing his way to the front of the mob.

Octavian.

"WHO DARES INTERRUPT MY MANHUNT? I'll make you a sacrifice to the gods!"

Percy stepped forward in front of Hazel protectively, swinging his sword in warning. "I don't think so."

Octavian's jaw hung open as he looked at Percy in a stare of surprise that he was quick to morph into a glare of hate. "**YOU**."

Percy nodded. "Me," he admitted nonchalantly.

Octavian stared at him with such malice, such venom in his eyes that Hazel couldn't help but gulp, although Percy didn't seem fazed in the slightest. "What do you think you're doing here?"

"Well, I'm here to save my friend."

The Augur of Camp Jupiter sneered. "Right. I'm so sure. Well it's a good thing you decided to join the party; we were just about to come looking for you after we finished with this one," he said, pointing at Hazel but not really seeing her at all.

Percy snorted. "Yeah right. Octavian, you couldn't catch a date if she slapped you in the face. What makes you think you can capture the most powerful demigods at this camp? Possibly in the entire world?"

There was a slight chorus of "ooohs" and "buuurrrn" and "ooh, dude, did you hear that? That was cold." Percy smirked in satisfaction, and Hazel noticed Octavian shift in embarrassment. She also began to feel a serious sense of deja vu. Hadn't she been in a situation like this before?

Octavian huffed indignantly. "Yeah, well, whatever. You fell into Tartarus, so HA!"

"At least I fell in with a girl! The closest company you'd find down there would be your teddy bear, cuz all the monsters would just ignore you." Another round of burn noises, along with a few nervous laughs. Octavian started to say something, but it came out as an inaudible stutter. Percy kept going. "In fact, you wouldn't even have the teddy bear, cuz he'd know how lame you are since you still play with stuffed animals." The crowd of boys around Octavian broke out into a contagious, mocking laugh. Yep, Hazel had definitely been here, done this before. But what...

Then it clicked. Of course! She recalled the name of the young boy who'd she'd experienced so much with, who had saved her hide on multiple occasions: but not on quests- just at regular school. Days when she'd have to get up and face the bullies at the St. Agnes School for Colored Children and Indians were all made better by the one person who always defended her and protected her:

Sammy.

Even now, the resemblance between him and Percy was clear: both coming to her rescue just as she was about to get beaten up; both turning the bully's crowd of followers around on him, making him the laughingstock; both winning against the bully through jokes and taunts instead of direct fighting (although Hazel knew Percy could win that way too)...

Hazel snapped out of her reverie just in time to see Percy pointing Octavian- who walked like a little kid who just got busted for stealing the cookies, scuffling his feet and whining as he complained about unfairness- out the door, his pack of followers reluctantly tailing behind him, filing out of the store one-by-one until the only people left were Hazel and Percy.

He shuffled his feet awkwardly. "I'm sorry," he said suddenly.

Hazel looked at him in evident surprise, her eyebrows raised. "Sorry? For what?"

Percy sighed forlornly. "For not getting here in time." He paused, seeming to gather his thoughts.

"It's not your fault. That's crazy talk!" she said.

"I know, but...I should have been here sooner!" he cried, frustrated, and suddenly punching his fist against the desk. "Ow..." he whined. He shook off the pain, looking at her abashedly from underneath his thick mop of black hair. "I'm really sorry though, Hazel. It's totally my fault. Any second later and they might have-"

Hazel stopped his "crazy talk" as she leaned up, standing on her tippy toes, and plastered a quick kiss on his cheek.

Percy stopped talking abruptly. "What was that for?" he asked, eyes wide. She lowered her feet to the ground and gazed at him levelly.

"That was for getting here at _just the right time. _Seriously, Percy, it's not your fault." She paused, suddenly wanting to say something, although it made her slightly emotional. "You've always protected me, Percy. Always. And I appreciate that so much. I really do." She continued. "You're like a second big brother to me, one that's there way more often, nothing against Nico. But even from the first day I knew you, I've always trusted you, and you've always cared for me and looked out for me. That's why I love you. You _are _my big brother."

He smiled at her, the tears in his eyes mirroring the ones that glistened in hers. "No problem," he said, slightly choking on the words. "Now how about we go call Reyna and tattle on Octavian?" Again, Hazel flashbacked to that moment she'd shown Leo, of her and Sammy.

Percy held out his elbow like a gentleman, but Hazel pushed him away playfully.

_Sammy held out his elbow like a gentleman, but Hazel pushed him away playfully._

"Thanks for being there, Percy."

"_Thanks for being there, Sammy."_

"Miss Levesque, I will _always _be there for you!" he said brightly.

"_Miss Lamarr, I will _always _be there for you!" he said brightly. _

The two of them raced back to the Senate.

_The two of them raced back into the schoolhouse._

* * *

**YAHOO! Another chapter all wrapped up with a bow, nice and pretty (IDK what that meant). Here are the Ch. 18 shout-outs:**

**nahte123456: Thanks for the review, as always. Poor Piper just needed a therapist, didn't she? LOL please review again!**

**ResidentOfCabin6: Thanks for reviewing, friend. :) Glad you liked how I wrote Piper; I tried! And yeah the seven-year itch thing happens to a lot of couples, which is kind of sad, but the movie, the idea, everything I wrote is basically true. :)**

**AprilSpirit: Hey old friend! (Not calling you old.) I'm glad you like the last chapter and this story so much that I made you have a word-typing spasm in the beginning of your review. Goals accomplished! haha but really thanks for all the sweet support and reviews.**

**candyisyummy83: No need to pull out the sledgehammer. I'm here to stay. :) Glad you liked the last chapter so much (and thank you for answering the question: I feel the EXACT same way!) Thanks for reviewing, please do it again sometime!**

**kingpariah: Thank you SO SO much for all the wonderful support and encouragement you gave me; I don't think you'll ever really know how much it helped me. I LOVE your reviews, so please review again! (I'll be sad if you don't...)**

**069975688: First of all, I'm sorry if I typed your username wrong...but that's a lot of numbers! Anyway, super glad you like the one-shots. Appreciate everything you've done. Please review again!**

**ZoeandArtyawesomelover: (Thanks for the review). I feel like Jasper would experience the most difficulty in their relationship (and I'm a Percy-fan too!) I'm glad you can use Drew that way; she deserves more! And I LOVED your haiku!**

**Lucian Naruto: Wow, I know I already PMed you about this, but your support helped me so much. You are an incredibly kind person (all though someone might not be able to tell from your ranting, um I mean review...), so thank you so so much for all you've done. **

**Guest #1: Sorry you didn't leave a name so I don't know who you are (but thanks for reviewing anyway!) A Star Wars crossover huh? Interesting...**

**Wade98: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Thanks for reviewing, and for putting so much thought into the question!**

**Joeyvin the Dragon Master: I'm sorry to say that I can't really understand your review. (The "Sadie thing"? Do you mean Chapter 10?) IDK if you like my story, or dislike it...But thanks for reviewing anyway, and don't worry: I'll continue writing!**

**Firefrost143: Dear FF143, thank you for reviewing and answering the question. You have no idea how happy it makes me that you feel that way about my story! Please review again. :)**

**America: thank you for all the INCREDIBLY sweet and kind reviews. They really lift me up. Glad you liked the chapter; thanks for reviewing and answering the question. I look forward to your review this chapter...**

**Cynical Chinchil: Thanks for the great review like always. I'm sorry if you were at all disappointed by the last chapter. (An Annabeth x Piper fight would've been great, but I'm not great at writing that stuff). And no more procrastinating! I hope you're proud. :)**

**Brytte Mystere: LOL the struggle is real, right? Thanks for reviewing. Again. :)**

**Guest #2: Hey again, Brytte. Thanks for reviewing, for the support, for answering the question, for not bitch-reading my story...everything. Please review again! (Maybe this time it'll work right for you!)**

**RoboMonkey101: Thanks I'm really really glad you enjoyed the last chapter; I tried really hard to make the last one and this one good! Hope you review again...**

**PeriwinkleFire14: Well you made it just in the nick of time, didn't you? You review 5 minutes before I'm about to post a new chapter. You sneaky son (no wait daughter) of a gun. Thanks for the support and reviews. Please review again!**

**Thanks for reviewing everyone! Here is the chapter for this question:**

**What was the saddest moment in either PJO or HoO, in your opinion, and why?**

**Thanks everybody who did anything. Now, for the purpose of this stupid metaphor I'm about to deliver, let's pretend like I'm the annoying aunt who gives you socks for you birthday. This chapter was a pair of socks. Reviews are like thank-you notes. Now pretend like your mom is making you write one. Thank you. Please write again sometime!**

**I love you all so so much, and thank you for you continued, wonderful support. Have a wonderful week! REVIEW!**

**Love to everyone,**

**~Princess Andromeda II**


	20. Sally

**PLEASE READ MY ENTIRE AUTHOR'S NOTE (BOTH OF THEM) TODAY: IMPORTANT STUFF!**

**Hey everyone. So, as some of you may know, this is officially the last chapter of "Everyone Loves Percy". I struggled for a really long time over whether this would be the right time to end it, but I think it is. I don't want to stretch the plot too far, and I also have other ideas I'm ready to tackle. Plus (in case any of you have noticed) today is officially the 5-month anniversary of the day I published this story. So I guess it's kind of...poignant (?) or something. Anyway, I'll go ahead shut up so you can read, but there is very important stuff at the bottom, so please read that. (I'll be individually thanking every single person who ever followed, favorited, reviewed, or added this story to their community.) K, shutting up...now! Please enjoy the 20th (and final) chapter of "Everyone Loves Percy"!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of Rick Riordan's books, but I will forever own this fanfic. "EVERYONE LOVES PERCY" IS FOREVER!**

**(text from: PJO and HoO)**

* * *

**Sally**

It's weird how people cry in different ways.

Like, why don't all people's cries sound the same? Wouldn't that make more sense? No one is really crying about anything new... But maybe it's like sneezing: although everyone is doing the same thing, the same body function, each person does it in a different way. It's what makes that person unique. Or special.

But right now, Sally Jackson didn't feel that special. In fact, she felt downright miserable. Here she was, the Sally Jackson who had stayed tough when her parents had died in a devastating plane crash and she'd been orphaned, forced to go live with her kind but lazy old uncle. But that woman would have been ashamed to see the state that Sally was in now:

Her shoulders, which shook from the effort of sobbing so much, were hunched over, her wet face in her hands. Her tears were salty and cool, and so slippery that they raced down her slightly crinkled face like seals on ice. She squeezed her sea-green eyes shut in an effort to stop the continual flow of the tears, but that did nothing. This was just one of those moments when she had to cry. After all, this was a very big day, and there would never another one like it.

Sally was losing one of the most important people in her life. She'd known him for a very long time now, but that didn't seem to make much of a difference. He'd made up his mind: he was leaving her. He was going away, and he might not be back for quite a while.

She reached into the big cardboard box resting beside her on the couch, replacing the item she currently held for a new one randomly. She was not disappointed by the exchange.

"Look at this one!" she said softly to herself, amusement and sadness tinging her words. She stared down at something in her hands: a small, 6-inch square piece of paper. A photo. The image was slightly blurry, as if either taken with a cheap camera, or the subject of the photo was in motion. The picture was only further smudged by the spattering of Sally's fat tears. If one looked past the quality over the picture, she could see a few items in the edge of the shot: something brown that was maybe a table leg; a tan carpet; and what looked like a really ugly shoe. But in the center was a true Kodak moment: a little dark-haired boy, no older than eight or nine months, was staring at the camera with a huge, toothy grin on his face. There was a slightly visible trail of drool down the left corner of his mouth. He was standing on both legs, and, although slightly wobbly, he stood with the confidence that many adults often lack; he was frozen mid-step, his huge green eyes wide, as if he was a deer caught in headlights. Sally flipped the photo over, reading the label on the back: _May 3, 1994: Percy takes his first steps._

Sally sighed as she put the photo back in the box and searched inside for another one. There were _so _many! She knew that as a mom, she may have been overly prolific in her paparazzi-ness of her child, but she'd always felt that she should capture as many moments with Percy as possible, since he was a demigod, thus always in danger of some sort. Still, she was almost regretting it now. As she sorted through the stack, she recognized picture after picture, many of them related to Percy's time dealing with the Greek gods.

A picture of Percy at Camp Half-Blood after his first quest, when he accepted Riptide as his weapon of choice. _A medium-length xiphos made of Celestial bronze. _A photo of him eating cookies that she'd baked for him at Christmas, where he was surrounded by friends and family in the background. _Homemade blue chocolate-chip cookies, buttery and hot, with the chips still melting. _Percy posing on the front steps of Goode High School on his first day, looking slightly embarrassed but still smiling. _Goode was a big brownstone building overlooking the East River. _A shot taken from behind him of his first "official" date with Annabeth in which they'd gone to the movies (the photo was snapped _during_ the movie too). _Annabeth was a pretty girl, her blonde hair curled like a princess. _Him at his high school graduation from Goode, one of his hands raised in a wave toward the camera, the other held out to receive his diploma. He was frozen mid-step in the picture, just like in the photo of his first steps, his eyes so green, and so alive.

Sally let out a deep sigh. She was tired. So, so tired. Her mind was almost numb with exhaustion. It was the kind of exhaustion that comes from too many sleepless nights, where you stay up, trying to cry yourself to sleep but failing because your tears _must _be cried, your sadness must be felt. She was just so _tired _of being tired.

As she retrieved another photograph from the massive box overflowing with similar pictures, the phone rang on the small oak table next to her, and she pushed the blanket out of her way, sniffling, to reach the phone, the picture still grasped firmly in her hand; as she did so, an avalanche of used tissues tumbled off the couch and onto the floor, until the carpet under her feet was covered in snot rags. She had to turn on a lamp in order to see the phone (an old Blackberry that she'd had for a few years; she wasn't much one for technology) 's screen in order to see who the caller was. _Out of Area, _it read.

_Pull it together, Sally, _she thought as she answered the phone, trying her best to sound composed, if only for a few minutes. "Hello?"

"Sally!" The voice on the other end of the line cried in surprise. "Have you been crying?"

"N-no," she stammered, trying her best to plug the hole in the levy that allowed these damn tears to keep flowing out.

At the reply from her, the voice- a man, it sounded like- made a noise that sounded like _tsk tsk tsk, _as if he were scolding her. "You used to be a much better liar, Sally."

"Poseidon," she said in shock, whispering the man's name. It was quite a surprise to hear from him. After all, it isn't every day that an extremely powerful god of the sea that you dated for a while and had a child with suddenly calls you up like, "Hey, what's up?" The last time she had spoken to him had been an uneventful Iris Message, a failed attempt by him to spend more time with his wives, ex-wives, girlfriends...

Poseidon let loose a small, low chuckle on the other end of the line, and Sally felt her face heat up. Although she knew she wasn't in love with the sea god anymore- she was happily married to Paul, the perfect husband, after all- but memories of that summer she'd spent with Poseidon on Montauk Beach and the things they'd done, the adventures they'd had, the things they'd said to each other, were still more than enough to cajole a bright red blush out of her cheeks. She was extremely grateful that this was a phone call, and not an Iris Message like last time.

Poseidon's chuckle suddenly ceased, and she could practically hear the man's brow furrow in concern. He said, much more fondly this time, "Sally, really, is anything wrong?"

Sally sighed. She figured she'd have to tell him. She knew he wouldn't leave her alone otherwise. And he was the god of the sea, for gods' sakes! He would find out eventually anyway, so it might as well be sooner rather than later.

She quickly glanced at the photo still in her hand, her tight grip having crinkled it. It was a picture of Percy at his first and only tee-ball game (they had later discovered that he was more of a swimmer, for obvious reasons). He'd been about five years old, one of the youngest on the team. In the photo, he was staring at the camera in total elation, his face lit up in the joy that the world needs more of, his green eyes bigger than the soft baseballs they used for the sport. _He'd just hit his first home-run, _she recalled fondly. She took a deep breath, which hitched at the end. Her throat constricted, and she tried to swallow the massive lump that had lodged itself there.

"Percy is going to college."

There was a stunned silence on the other end of the phone. Several seconds passed by. Sally stared at the screen of the phone in confusion, wondering if they'd lost the connection somehow. "Hello?"

After a few more seconds of awkward silence, Poseidon responded in an apologetic manner. "Yeah. Right. Sorry, Sally. I'm still here." He cleared his throat. "Where?"

"The University of Minerva in New Rome at Camp Jupiter," she replied automatically.

"Wow. Okay. I just..." Sally was surprised to hear Percy's father take a shaky breath, taking a moment before he replied. "I just, I didn't expect him to be so..._old._" He continued, talking faster now. "He's just so grown up. I can't believe it. It seems like only yesterday that he was that little pudgy toddler who couldn't walk a foot without falling down, but who could sprint across an entire football field if he had a sword in his hand. I remember he used to be so cute, with those big green eyes of yours, and the dark mop of hair that I gave him, and the wonderful smile you passed on to him. Now he's not cute anymore: he's handsome. He's got girls _crawling_ over him, and he doesn't even realize it! I've heard the rumors, and it seems like every female in the world loves him. But he's steady, and he's been with one girl the entire time. He's a young man now: strong, funny, passionate, kind, smart, talented... "

Sally nodded sympathetically, as if the phone could pick up her actions and transmit them to Poseidon so that he'd be able to tell how much she understood what he was going through. She tried to form the words in her mouth, but as she listened to him ramble on- rambling about his son, _their _son- she couldn't quite get sound to pass through her lips and to form audible thoughts. She was just so in awe of his emotions, and touched that he seemed to care that much about their Percy. Everything Poseidon told Sally seemed solidly true, up until the point when he said wistfully :

"He's all grown up, and I missed his entire childhood." There was so much sadness there, so much regret, angst, guilt, and bitterness hidden inside those few words, that it made Sally's heart ache.

"That's not true," she whispered.

"Thanks Sally, I appreciate it, but I'm afraid it is."

"No, it's not," she said more firmly this time, slightly frowning. Wiping away a tear, she paused, considering something. "Poseidon, come here a minute."

He was there in an instant, appearing by her side so fast that she dropped the phone in her hand and almost knocked over the box filled with Percy's pictures. Poseidon just calmly hung up the phone. "You called?"

"Don't scare me like that!" she exclaimed, her heart still beating fast. "Oh, and please excuse the mess. We just cleaned out all the boxes and finished moving into this new two-story house, only to have it messed up again with more clutter by Percy, since he's leaving..." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I want you to see something." She handed him the photo she'd been holding in her hand the entire time during the phone call, the one where he'd just hit a home-run.

Poseidon looked at it confusion, and then glanced up at her, staring at her in expectation. "Well?"

"Well?..." she prompted, not allowing his stubbornness to dominate the purpose of this conversation. "Do you recognize it?"

"Of course," he said, trying to hand it back to her. "It's Percy's first tee-ball game, the one where he hit his first home-run. But," he said cautiously, "I wouldn't know that, because I missed it."

"Were you? Were you _really_?" questioned Sally as she stood up, thrusting the photo back to him again. "Because this looks an awful lot like you." She pointed to a man standing amid the crowd behind the batting cage; he was wearing a teal baseball hat, along with the colors of Percy's team. His eyes shined bright with pride as he watched his son.

Poseidon shrugged his shoulders. "It was one game. For _tee-ball. _It wasn't a big deal."

"Oh?" she asked, fishing out a second picture from the box that still rested on the sofa. She showed it to him. "Well, what about this one? Hmm?" It was the one of Percy at the Christmas party, eating cookies. There was a man among the throng of friends and family members, keeping towards the back, but still leaning over a shoulder to peer at his son's grinning face.

Poseidon squinted at the picture in dismay. "Gods, I used to be fat."

Sally wouldn't let him win by changing the subject. She pulled out all the pictures she'd gazed at: the first date, the first day of school, after the first quest; and at least a dozen more: getting a new haircut, picking out his first car, using his own credit card for the first time. And in each one, Poseidon appeared somewhere in the picture, always in the back or the edge of the shot so as not to be noticed by his son, but there just barely enough so that Percy wouldn't ever be without a father. The sea god could deny none of the evidence that Sally had shown him.

"And the most recent one," she said finally, holding out the graduation photo. There in the crowd below the stage, on the very first row, was Poseidon, staring at Percy with such pride and love in his eyes that it seemed like no father could ever care for his son more than he did.

"Don't you see?" she summed up. "You've been there for every important moment in Percy's life, both the small and the big ones. That takes real dedication. I know you couldn't be with him every day during his childhood like I could, but you were there in _spirit. _And you made every effort to see him as much as possible. You were always there. _That's _what really matters."

He was silent for a moment before saying something, but finally Poseidon whispered softly, "I wasn't in all of those pictures."

"What?" Sally asked in confusion, sure she'd heard him incorrectly. She had clearly shown him all of the pictures, and his face in every one of them.

"I wasn't in all of the pictures," he said louder, looking up at her. "Percy's first steps. I wasn't in the shot."

Sally grinned. "Oh really? Whose ugly shoes do you think those were?" Poseidon grinned along with her, and laughed. It was a good hearty laugh, one that Sally missed, and the sound reverberated around the living room that had been so solemn only a moment ago. It was such a contagious chuckle that she couldn't help but join in, their laughs bouncing in harmony around the walls.

Just as their laughter was dying off and they were wiping away tears, there was a tremendous bang from upstairs. They looked to the stairs, only to see an avalanche of boxes roll down the steps, with Percy tumbling after. The whole scene looked rather ridiculous, and reminded Sally of that nursery rhyme, "Jack and Jill." Still, being the mother she was, paramedic was her first and foremost role when her son was in possible danger. She rushed to his side, where he lay on the wooden floor, moaning.

"Percy, Percy, look at me. Are you hurt? Where are you hurt? Oh my gods, you're hurt, aren't you? Oh gods, I bet you've lost a ton of blood, haven't you? How much blood have you lost? Are you bleeding internally? Did you break any bones? How many-"

"MOM!" he exclaimed, sitting up suddenly, probably much faster than necessary, since he clutched his head and winced. But upon seeing the worried expression on his mother's face, he tried to play it off. "Mom, seriously, I'm fine." She gazed at him doubtfully. "I'm _fine! _Really! I could just use a little help taking these boxes out-" His sentence died off slowly when he saw the other person in the room. "...to...the...car."

Percy shook his head in confusion. "Dad? I don't understand. What are you doing here?"

Poseidon pushed off from the wall he'd been leaning on and crossed the room to Percy, who stood up from the ground (again, much faster than he probably should have). "I came to see you, Percy," he said, rather matter-of-factly. He glanced down at the mound of scattered boxes on the floor. "You _are_ going to college right now, aren't you?"

Percy gulped, but stared him in the eye as he answered. "Yes, sir. I start in a few days." He gestured to himself as he hurried to pick up an overturned box. "I was going to drive up there by myself, since I wouldn't want to put Mom in any danger because of monsters, and a lot of my friends like Annabeth are flying up there tomorrow. I thought it would be best if I didn't invade Zeus- I mean, your brother's- personal space. So, yeah, just me," he repeated.

Sally, who was standing slightly behind Poseidon but facing Percy, began to gesture wildly at her son, wiggling her eyebrows, moving her hands, and nodding her head at the man beside her. Thankfully, Percy was adept at reading "Mom", because he got the message.

Turning to his father, he said, "Sir, I'll be kind of lonely riding up there by myself, and it's a long, risky drive. Would you-" he cleared his throat nervously, not daring to meet his father in the eye. Suddenly his shoes became very interesting, and he studied them intently. "Would you like to come with me?" He peeked up at his father very slowly, and was surprised to see him beaming from ear to ear.

"Of course!" the sea god roared, pulling his son in for a hug. "Oh, this will be so great! We can have father-son bonding time, and we can talk about father-son stuff, like football, and fishing, and baseball, and hot sauce, and..." He trailed on and on as he scooped up three quarters of the spilled boxes with one arm, and led his son out the door with the other. "Goodbye Sally!" Poseidon called over his shoulder as he went out to the car. In a moment both he and his son and his son's belongings were gone, ready to leave for college. And Sally hadn't even gotten to say goodbye.

But she wasn't worried.

She waited. Less than one moment later, Percy burst back into the living room, calling to his dad (who was no doubt already in the car), "One second, Dad, I forgot my keys!" He rattled his car keys, which he'd already had in his hand, mischievously at his mom, the other hand over his mouth in fake conspiracy. Suddenly he let his goofy grin drop, and instead looked at his mom in total seriousness.

"Mom," he said, with some concern, "I-"

"Shh," she whispered, the tears from earlier already making their way back up to her eyes. "You don't even need to say anything."

Percy shook his head in protest. "But I do. I want to tell you thank you, thank you for always being there for me. I never would have done anything right if you hadn't taught me the right way to do it. All the good things that come from me? They came from you. You, Mom. You are the best mom anyone could ever hope for. All my life, I've known that, but I think that now is the proper time to tell you that. No guy in the entire world is as lucky as me. Nobody else has a mom as good as you. So thank you. Thank you for everything. Ever."

At this point, the tears were so welled up in Sally's eyes that she couldn't even see the details of Percy's face, but she guessed he was crying, or close to it, from the choked sound of his voice. It showed how sweet and gentle he could be, a teenage boy going off to college that was willing to cry, and she loved that about him, but she would _not_ cry in front of him, for fear that he would threaten not to go if it would hurt her, which it would. But he couldn't know that. He needed to go. He had to. This was the part where she let him go, without ever really letting him go. That was her role as a mom. This was what she'd been preparing for Percy's entire life.

The moment she had to say goodbye.

"I love you, Mom," he said finally. He hugged her, and there were more words in that hug than there had ever been in any other. Gazing at her fondly and memorizing her face, he kissed her on the cheek, once, twice. And then he ran out the door.

Only when she was certain he was in the car and she could hear the rev of the engine as it rolled away from this, from her, did she whisper softly, "I love you too, Percy."

And then the tears spilled over.

* * *

**Hi everyone. So, I'm really really hoping that everyone has enjoyed this story. I really do. I know it has brought me so much confidence for me writing, and I never thought that I could enjoy doing something this much. (Is this even legal?) So, I'll start out with the thank-yous now (bare with me now; this will be long, but try to find your name [it's alphabetical] if you've ever helped this story out in anyway):**

**I'd like to specially thank the following people, for always giving me IMMENSE amounts of support: kingpariah, Lucian Naruto, and RoboMonkey101. You guys are awesome. **

**FOR FAVORITING ME (34):**

**Anibelli, Brittany Jackson, ChaoticVortex, Dovahkiinwolfghost7, GrimCreeper, Hooded Lord, ifoundalaskay, It's An Elaborate Ruse, JiperxPercabeth, Joeyvin the Dragon Master, keyblade wield3r, kimchi-warrior, king of the wolfs, kingpariah, Mari Wollsch, Neya Perciper Jeffreys, NovaNyxNinja, ObsessiveFangirl52, P3RSEUS, Paodan17, Percy jackson23, PeriwinkleFire14, PJ121212, Reaper or Kitty Snow, RoboMonkey101, Saehyun57, Sandrine21, sarah21903, Sassy di Angelo, Spider-ManStrongest, Swiftstrike210, tatortot367, TheAvengingGreek, TheGoldenChalace**

**FOR FOLLOWING ME (37):**

**Always-Hungry-Dino, Brittany Jackson, Dovahkiinwolfghost7, GrimCreeper, ifoundalaskay, It's An Elaborate Ruse, JiperxPercabeth, Joeyvin the Dragon Master, keyblade wield3r, kimchi-warrior, king of the wolfs, kingpariah, KiraYullin, Mari Wollsch, MrThingyMaBober, nahte123456, Neya Perciper Jeffreys, NovaNyxNinja, ObsessiveFangirl52, P3RSEUS, Paodan17, PeriwinkleFire14, PJ121212, Reaper or Kitty Snow, ResidentOfCabin6, RoboMonkey101, Saehyun57, Sandrine21, sarah21903, Sassy di Angelo, Spider-ManStrongest, storket, Swiftstrike210, tatortot367, TheAvengingGreek, TheGoldenChalace, Vikky azul**

**FOR FAVORITING THIS STORY (86):**

**069975688, AmeliaJane14, AprilSpirit, ArcherGirl12, AwkwardNerdyGirl, Bobbymichaels, Book Nut 4 Life, Brytte Mystere, Cainsanity2016, Canadianboy13, ChaoticVortex, DWGolondor, Delta General 42, Dovahkiinwolfghost7, Gage Shadow, GeekAtWork19, GrimCreeper, Hooded Lord, JiperxPercabeth, Joeyvin the Dragon Master, KiraYullin, LightningPants, Lucian Naruto, Mari Wollsch, Master of Dragons God, Neya Perciper Jeffreys, Nobodyjk, NovaNyxNinja, ObsessiveFangirl52, P3RSEUS, Pj121212, Paodan17, PeriwinkleFire14, Persassy18, Pink3924, PixelUp, Pluto's Daughter 11, Reaper or Kitty Snow, RoboMonkey101, Rose7Mellark, Saehyun57, Sandrine21, Sassy di Angelo, Skaires, SoulHorse, Swiftstrike210, TREY and ETHAN, The Brazilian Dark Lord, TheGodsOfKrios, The Imaginative Warrior, The Phantom keeper, The Savior of Olympus, The Twelve Olympians, TigressTitan, Tsuki Hanabira, Unknownyetknown369, Valerie-Washington, Vanne-the-bookworm, Vikky azul, Walker2702, WaytoManyImagination, XoxPerfectlyFlawedxoX, , bigt571, brinney, candyisyummy83, chaos007, crashoftenbyzantium, daichi95, dood107, ifoundalaskay, imjustanotherPJOandHoOfangirl, keyblade wield3r, keyking24, kimch-warrior, king of the wolfs, kingpariah, m. sobeee, mayram950, mystic wonderlands, perses19, sarah21903, tatortot367, weathery, youroneandonlylover, zopertimis**

**FOR FOLLOWING THIS STORY (106):**

**AbraxasLD, AllieJannie, AmeliaJane14, Anabel23, AprilSpirit, Astr-Nik, AwkwardNerdyGirl, Biaxbm, Bobbymichaels, Book Nut 2 Life, Brytte Mystere, Butterlover328, Cainsanity2016, Candianboy13, CoralCrystals, DWGolondor, Dovahkiinwolfghost7, Drake Draconos, Gage Shadow, Grey Fox Ninja, GrimCreeper, HispanicThug, Hooded Lord, InLovewithMissFisher, It's An Elaborate Ruse, JiperxPercabeth, Joeyvin the Dragon Master, KiraYullin, LightningPants, Lokhaxz, Lucian Naruto, Lycaon1096, Manimal, MarburyBlur, Mari Wollsch, MassDragonbornEffect, Mister Tea Time, Most Bodacious, Mr Mathias, Neya Perciper Jeffreys, NovaNyxNinja, ObsessiveFangirl52, P3RSEUS, PBS like Caillou, PJ121212, Paodon17, Percabeth818712, PeriwinkleFire14, PixelUp, Plain-Is-Prettiest, Pluto's Daughter 11, RICEwong, Reaper or Kitty Snow, ResidentOfCabin6, RoboMonkey101, Saehyun57, Sandrine21, SeaSpree, Shatterdxo, SoulHorse, Stetsonbennett, Swiftstrike210, TheGodsOfKrios, The Phantom keeper, The Savior of Olympus, TigressTitan, Tsuki Hanabira, Unknownyetknown369, Valerie-Washington, Vikky azul, Waldrong24, WaytoManyImagination, ZoeandArtyawesomelover, acitrusfruit42, , bigt571, bookwormlover4ever, camilu257, coakleyaisling, crashoftenbyzantium, daichi95, dood107, eridorvanilor01, fRanTiC MasTro, gururaj20000, ifoundalaskay, ilikchocolate7100, jigulipuff707, keyblade wield3r, kimchi-warrior, king of the wolfs, , mavora, mystic wonderlands, nahte123456, novellagirl, percy94, perses19, rebfan90, rmitz53, sarah21903, storket, tatortot367, warriors1011, weathery, youroneandonlylover**

**FOR FOLLOWING THIS STORY (106):**

**AbraxasLD, AllieJannie, AmeliaJane14, Anabel23, AprilSpirit, Astr-Nik, AwkwardNerdyGirl, Biaxbm, Bobbymichaels, Book Nut 2 Life, Brytte Mystere, Butterlover328, Cainsanity2016, Candianboy13, CoralCrystals, DWGolondor, Dovahkiinwolfghost7, Drake Draconos, Gage Shadow, Grey Fox Ninja, GrimCreeper, HispanicThug, Hooded Lord, InLovewithMissFisher, It's An Elaborate Ruse, JiperxPercabeth, Joeyvin the Dragon Master, KiraYullin, LightningPants, Lokhaxz, Lucian Naruto, Lycaon1096, Manimal, MarburyBlur, Mari Wollsch, MassDragonbornEffect, Mister Tea Time, Most Bodacious, Mr Mathias, Neya Perciper Jeffreys, NovaNyxNinja, ObsessiveFangirl52, P3RSEUS, PBS like Caillou, PJ121212, Paodon17, Percabeth818712, PeriwinkleFire14, PixelUp, Plain-Is-Prettiest, Pluto's Daughter 11, RICEwong, Reaper or Kitty Snow, ResidentOfCabin6, RoboMonkey101, Saehyun57, Sandrine21, SeaSpree, Shatterdxo, SoulHorse, Stetsonbennett, Swiftstrike210, TheGodsOfKrios, The Phantom keeper, The Savior of Olympus, TigressTitan, Tsuki Hanabira, Unknownyetknown369, Valerie-Washington, Vikky azul, Waldrong24, WaytoManyImagination, ZoeandArtyawesomelover, acitrusfruit42, , bigt571, bookwormlover4ever, camilu257, coakleyaisling, crashoftenbyzantium, daichi95, dood107, eridorvanilor01, fRanTiC MasTro, gururaj20000, ifoundalaskay, ilikchocolate7100, jigulipuff707, keyblade wield3r, kimchi-warrior, king of the wolfs, , mavora, mystic wonderlands, nahte123456, novellagirl, percy94, perses19, rebfan90, rmitz53, sarah21903, storket, tatortot367, warriors1011, weathery, youroneandonlylover**

**FOR REVIEWING FOR THIS STORY (270 Reviews Total; Sorry It's Not Alphabetical):**

**(all guests), the feels, The Twelve Olympians, kingpariah, PERCABETH Lover, Maria, BrittanyLP, Plain-Is-Prettiest, The 6th Spectral King, Delta General 42, ChaoticVortex, It's An Elaborate Ruse, , SoulHorse, MarburyBlur, jigulipuff707, SamTheKingOfHell, AliceAcee, FireFox, RoboMonkey101, infinityowl, nahte123456, Cnbrr, Pluto's Daughter 11, Lucian Naruto, Jennn, weathery, rachelmarie224, MisterTeaTime, halfbloodwizard, Brittany Jackson, tv123, Percabeth4Life3, Night, tatortot367, Saehyun57, Can'tResistThisFantabulosity, Wade98, musiclover4ever, ASFBJFSLD, heroic farm, eridorvanilor01, sarah21903, Sandrine21, SiriuslyPink, HispanicThug, PeriwinkleFire14, AwkwardNerdyGirl, RomeoBlue, Daap, Famous0618, America, RiptideFTW, Anibelli, Fanmail guy, Mae, Cynical Chinchil, kiko, ifoundalaskay, theGirlster, Sassy di Angelo, ZoeandArtyawesomelover, YungHomer, adsfads, aloha, forrestweintraub, Firefrost143, BurstDolphin428, Ben Kharfen, HateThisStory, AprilSpirit, candyisyummy83, 069975688, Joeyvin the Dragon Master, rebfan90**

**FOR ADDING MY STORY TO YOUR COMMUNITY:**

**Vikky azul, Aeternum Spe, Pluto's Daughter 11, The Phantom keeper, PUGA1414, ChaoticVortex, Sadie Breezy, It's An Elaborate Ruse, ShadowPhoenix15, Hex theShadeslayer, Elemental Creation**

**I'll try to upload the review shout-outs for Chapter 19 soon (I'm very rushed right now). Alright, now that that's done, here is the question for this chapter, and I encourage everyone to please answer this question in a review, because it will help me a lot!**

**What is your favorite chapter from this story, and why?**

**Alright everyone, looks like that's it for now. PLEASE REVIEW! I'm trying to get to 300 reviews by next Wednesday. Seriously though, it's been a wonderful 5 months. It really has been. But I'm not done writing; not in the slightest. I have so much more I want to do. Also, I would like to take this opportunity to thank anyone who is reading this right now, because you made this story happen. I would never have had the confidence to do this much if it weren't for you guys. You have no idea how much your support has mean to me. This story is officially dedicated to anyone who ever cared about it and was kind enough to give it a chance. :)**

**I love you all so so much. **

**Thank you, everyone.**

**Until next time.**

**Love, **

**~Princess Andromda II**


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